Novel Approach of Biophotovoltaic Solid State Solar Cells Based on a Multilayer of PS1 Complexes as an Active Layer

Due to the ever-increasing demand for electrical energy, research on renewable energies has achieved tremendous gains. In this study nature has inspired us by the photosynthetic process and triggered the idea of applying the heart of this process (Photosystem1 (PS1)) as active layer in biobased solid state solar cells. Biophotovoltaic solar cells have many advantages such as low cost production, environmentally friendly, and easy waste management compared with other photovoltaic devices. The fabricated biophotovoltaic solar cells have exhibited an impressive increase in short-circuit current density from the low rate of the microamps per squared centimeter range, concluded by previous studies on PS1-based devices, up to the average value of 0.96 mA·cm–2. Furthermore, these devices are characterized by average values of open-circuit voltage and fill factor of 0.25 V and 31%, respectively. A power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.069% is achieved, which is the highest efficiency reported to date for PS1-based solid state solar cells.