DISSERTATION DEFENSE
Joshua Passantino, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
*Under the direction of Dr. Kane Jennings
“Targeted Electrochemical Reactions at the Active Sites of the Photosystem I Protein Complex”
Monday, March 21, 2022
1:15PM | 044 ESB
In this dissertation, multiple investigations targeting specific reaction centers of the Photosystem I (PSI) protein complex were performed. Historically, PSI has been used and analyzed in three-electrode electrochemical cells to study the electrochemical capabilities of the protein, typically through mediated electron transfer (MET). One of the primary goals of the work contained in this dissertation is to find ways to improve the performance and utilization of PSI for more applied systems, such as gel-base two-electrode photovoltaic devices, solid-state devices, and the production of value-added materials. The three major investigations detailed in this work are: 1) utilizing PSI in a natural, renewable, gel-based dye-sensitized solar cell for direct solar energy conversion, 2) using PSI to oxidatively polymerize the conducting polymer, polypyrrole, to create photoactive protein-polymer conjugates, and 3) polymerizing polypyrrole through films of PSI proteins to form an electroactive protein-polymer matrix. These investigations all were carried out to advance our knowledge of how to effectively utilize PSI. As more research is done utilizing PSI, the resulting biohybrid technologies and techniques continue to become more efficient while remaining low cost and environmentally friendly. In the future, there is an increasing possibility that someone will be able to grow their own sources of PSI, extract the protein, and then use it to generate their own green energy.