Harnessing Sunlight for Sustainable Chemistry
Lead Research Organisation:
University of East Anglia
Department Name: Chemistry
Abstract
In moving to a sustainable future much inspiration stems from the near limitless supply of energy provided to Earth by the sun. Photovoltaics harnessing this energy as electricity are well-established. Equally promising are solar-technologies for chemical transformations. This project aims to develop reaction capsules able to harness visible-light to drive reductive chemical transformations in their internal volumes. Three catalytic transformations will be targeted:
a) reduction of Au(III) to form gold nanoparticles with application as transistors and in medical devices
b) reduction of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide to nitrogen by the enzyme nitrous oxide reductase
c) production of H2, a fuel and chemical feedstock, by proton reduction at Pt nanoparticles.
Porin:cytochrome complexes spanning the wall of the reaction capsule will collect reducing electrons from external light-harvesting systems and deliver those electrons to the internalised catalyst systems.
a) reduction of Au(III) to form gold nanoparticles with application as transistors and in medical devices
b) reduction of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide to nitrogen by the enzyme nitrous oxide reductase
c) production of H2, a fuel and chemical feedstock, by proton reduction at Pt nanoparticles.
Porin:cytochrome complexes spanning the wall of the reaction capsule will collect reducing electrons from external light-harvesting systems and deliver those electrons to the internalised catalyst systems.
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BB/M011216/1 | 01/10/2015 | 31/03/2024 | |||
| 1800040 | Studentship | BB/M011216/1 | 01/10/2016 | 31/03/2021 | Samuel Piper |
| Description | I have been developing a network of proteins that will allow electrons, derived from sunlight, to cross a lipid membrane and be used to power a useful chemical reaction. Using multiheme cytochromes from Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 and enzymes that can reduce nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas, to nitrogen I will soon be able to drive this reaction using the energy of light. Key findings: Photosensitiser-labelled heme proteins can be fully reduced by exposure to light and a sacrificial electron donor Photosensitiser-labelled heme proteins can be reconstituted into a protein complex, forming a membrane spanning electron wire, electron transfers from this reconstituted complex to nitrous oxide reductase have been studied in isolation. |
| Exploitation Route | The system being developed is a proof-of-principle based on the simplest system we could envisage, however once the system is operational the procedure could be adapted to power a host of different reactions, from fuel production to chemical synthesis |
| Sectors | Chemicals,Energy,Environment,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Description | Institut Laue-Langevin experiment 8-03-986 |
| Organisation | Institut Laue–Langevin |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Sample production, preparation and shipping prior to experiment start time. Final sample preparation on site in Grenoble. Input on experimental design. Subsequent data analysis |
| Collaborator Contribution | Financial support for travel and accommodation, Provision of equipment and machinery (neutron source, detector, PPE...) Assistance from beamline scientists (Anne Martel) |
| Impact | Data analysis is still underway, outcomes are not yet finalised. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Bioelectrochemical society conference BES2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | BES 2017 was held in Lyon, France and featured an international panel of speakers discussing many aspects of bioelctrochemistry. There was also a poster session at which i presented a poster and won a poster prize. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.bioelectrochemical-soc.org/BES-meetings.php |
| Description | Gordon Research Conference - Electron donor-acceptor interactions 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The EDAI GRC was held at Salve Regina University in Newport RI, USA. The conference featured many interesting talks from a variety of areas from very applied biology research to purely computational work. Poster sessions were also run at which I presented a poster. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.grc.org/electron-donor-acceptor-interactions-conference/2018/ |
| Description | Gordon Research Symposium - Electron donor-acceptor interactions 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The 2018 EDAI GRS took place before the GRC and featured talks and posters from early-career researchers, I gave a talk on my recent findings at this symposium. I got good feedback from my talk. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.grc.org/electron-donor-acceptor-interactions-grs-conference/2018/ |
| Description | ISMET 7 2019 - Okinawa Japan |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Attended ISMET 2019 conference in Okinawa Japan along with 2 collegues. Presented a poster |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.ismet7.com/ |
| Description | Latitude festival outreach activity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | At the invitation of Dr. Jenny Rand from SAW trust our group planned and delivered a set of activities at the kids area of Latitude Festival 2018. The activities were based around the bacteria we work with which can live in diverse environments as they do not require oxygen to respire. The activities were designed to teach about different types of energy and where our energy as humans comes from, what bacteria are, where they live and how we can extract clean electricity from soil using special bacteria. The participants also got to have a go at using the Oculus Rift virtual reality system to dive inside a metalloprotein and look for the important atoms of iron that allow the protein to conduct electricity. I was involved in the planning meetings where the activities were developed and built one activity myself. This was a puzzle that was designed to teach about protein structure and that some proteins can conduct electricity if they are correctly built. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Norwich Science festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Our research group delivered a series of outreach activities, based on those delivered at Latitude festival earlier in the year, at the Norwich Science festival on "Technology Day". The activities were focused on 3 areas: Types of energy and where animals get their energy, Habitats, electric bacteria and how they take advantage of their environment. The individual activities varied from working out where different species might live to a virtual reality experience where the structure of a metalloprotein could be visualised in 3D. The event ran all day in the centre of the Forum in the heart of Norwich and we were busy from opening to closing. As part of the event we produced a "lanyard card" with some highlights of what the audience would have learned for them to take away, I personally drafted the text that appeared on this card. The event was a great success and many members of the pubic left with a new appreciation of the fascinating bacteria that are under their feet. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |