Enhancing Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production from Single S. oneidensis MR-1/CdS Biohybrid System via Optimized Electron Transport at the Bioabiotic Interface

Abstract

A conductive polymer shell with electron collection behavior is constructed on an S. oneidensis MR-1/CdS inorganic–biohybrid photocatalytic system, which endows the engineered cells with the capability of excellent conductivity and broad visible-light absorption, and thus, the transport of photogenerated electrons at the biotic and abiotic interfaces is promoted, achieving efficient hydrogen production (23.18 μmol 10⁹ cells^–1 day^–1) for over 15 days compared with the traditional organic diffusion electron medium. A practical application was also conducted by using wastewater and natural sunlight for the hydrogen production, and 92.67 μmol of hydrogen was generated from the hybrid system within 7 days under wastewater and sunlight. This study contributes a new method for optimizing the interfacial electron transfer of inorganic–biohybrid systems for their application in the field of green energy production and provides insight into the rational design of the whole-cell biohybrid system with various production of valuable chemicals.