ORNL develops biohybrid photoconversion system

The ORNL researchers have demonstrated and confirmed with small-angle neutron scattering analysis that light-harvesting complex II (LHC-II) proteins can self-assemble with polymers into a synthetic membrane structure and produce hydrogen.

According to a statement from the US Department of Energy lab, the researchers foresee energy-producing photoconversion systems similar to photovoltaic cells that generate hydrogen fuel, comparable to the way plants and other photosynthetic organisms convert light to energy.

‘Making a self-repairing synthetic photoconversion system is a pretty tall order,’ said ORNL researcher Hugh O’Neill. ’The ability to control structure and order in these materials for self-repair is of interest because as the system degrades it loses its effectiveness.

‘This is the first example of a protein altering the phase behaviour of a synthetic polymer that we have found in the literature. This finding could be exploited for the introduction of self-repair mechanisms in future solar-conversion systems.’

Small-angle neutron scattering analysis performed at ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) showed that the LHC-II, when introduced into a liquid environment that contained polymers, interacted with polymers to form lamellar sheets similar to those found in natural photosynthetic membranes.