Enabling Electron Injection for Microbial Electrosynthesis with n-Type Conjugated Polyelectrolytes.

Autor: Quek G; Departments of Chemistry and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Institute for Functional Intelligent Materials (I-FIM), National University of Singapore, Singapore, 119077, Singapore., Vázquez RJ; Departments of Chemistry and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Institute for Functional Intelligent Materials (I-FIM), National University of Singapore, Singapore, 119077, Singapore., McCuskey SR; Departments of Chemistry and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Institute for Functional Intelligent Materials (I-FIM), National University of Singapore, Singapore, 119077, Singapore., Kundukad B; Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 639798, Singapore., Bazan GC; Departments of Chemistry and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Institute for Functional Intelligent Materials (I-FIM), National University of Singapore, Singapore, 119077, Singapore.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) [Adv Mater] 2022 Sep; Vol. 34 (37), pp. e2203480. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Aug 03.
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202203480
Abstrakt: Microbial electrosynthesis-using renewable electricity to stimulate microbial metabolism-holds the promise of sustainable chemical production. A key limitation hindering performance is slow electron-transfer rates at biotic-abiotic interfaces. Here a new n-type conjugated polyelectrolyte is rationally designed and synthesized and its use is demonstrated as a soft conductive material to encapsulate electroactive bacteria Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. The self-assembled 3D living biocomposite amplifies current uptake from the electrode ≈674-fold over controls with the same initial number of cells, thereby enabling continuous synthesis of succinate from fumarate. Such functionality is a result of the increased number of bacterial cells having intimate electronic communication with the electrode and a higher current uptake per cell. This is underpinned by the molecular design of the polymer to have an n-dopable conjugated backbone for facile reduction by the electrode and zwitterionic side chains for compatibility with aqueous media. Moreover, direct arylation polycondensation is employed instead of the traditional Stille polymerization to avoid non-biocompatible tin by-products. By demonstrating synergy between living cells with n-type organic semiconductor materials, these results provide new strategies for improving the performance of bioelectrosynthesis technologies.
(© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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