Maximizing light-driven CO2 and N2 fixation efficiency in quantum dot–bacteria hybrids

Synergistic Material-Microbe Interface toward Deeper Anaerobic Defluorination

“…By combining the unique reactivities from both electrochemistry and biochemistry, the material-microbe interface integrates the benefits from synthetic and biological catalysts and is proposed to yield new reactivities that were difficult to achieve with either materials or microbes alone (4)(5)(6)(7). Evidentially, we demonstrated that such a material-microbe interface is capable of fixing CO2 and N2 into chemicals, fuels, and fertilizers, powered by either sunlight or solar electricity, with high efficiencies and reaction throughputs (8)(9)(10)(11)(12). Such promising advances propel us to explore new applications and new reactivities with the utilization of material-microbe interface.…”

“…1A). The synergistic benefits from such an integrated approach could be from two different aspects: First, denoted as the electrochemical effect, the reductive electrochemical driving force on the electrode's surface itself offers additional electrochemical pathways of PFAS decomposition and defluorination; Second, denoted as the bioelectrochemical effect, the presence of electrochemical material-microbe interface may stimulate microbial metabolism (12,25) and change the species distribution when using microbial consortium for bioremediation, which will lead to completely new reactivities that are unobservable in the electrochemical or microbial system 4 alone. While those beneficial effects have not been experimentally demonstrated previously, the potential synergy at the material-microbe interface heralds a promising venue of addressing the challenges in bioremediation for faster and deeper PFAS defluorination.…”

Tailoring interfacial microbiome and charge dynamics via a rationally designed atomic-nanoparticle bridge for bio-electrochemical CO2-fixation

“…[11][12][13] Bioelectrochemical CO 2 reduction can be carried out with either type strains or microbiome. Though type strains are much easier for investigating the electron transfer process at the bioinorganic interface, [14][15][16][17][18][19] their resistance towards the reaction environment and self-regulation are inferior to that of the mixed microbiome. 20 Thus, the superior adaptability makes the mixed microbiome more suitable for practical application.…”

Efficiency Estimates for Electromicrobial Production of Branched-chain Hydrocarbons

“…EMP is a broadly-encompassing term for a group of technologies that aim to combine electricity and microbial metabolism for conversion of simple molecules like CO2, CO, HCOO -, and N2 into complex, energy dense molecules like food and biofuels [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] . EMP includes technologies like microbes that assimilate electrochemically-reduced CO2 like formate 14,17 ; H2-oxidizing, CO2-fixing systems like the Bionic Leaf 18,19 ; microbe-semiconductor hybrids 20 ; and microbes that can directly absorb electricity through processes like extracellular electron uptake (EEU) 8,21,22 . Lab-scale demonstrations of EMP already have effective solarto-chemical energy conversion efficiencies exceeding all forms of terrestrial photosynthesis 19,23 .…”