Plants are often thought of as a source of nutrients, oxygen, and ornamental, but not as a source of electricity. But scientists have discovered that it is possible to generate electricity as part of an environmentally friendly biological solar cell, using the natural transport of electrons in plant cells. In a recently published study ACS Applied Materials and InterfacesResearchers have used a succulent plant for the first time to create a living “bio-solar cell” powered by photosynthesis.

Electrons are naturally transported as part of biological processes in all living cells, from bacteria and fungi to plants and animals. By adding electrodes, cells can be used to generate electricity that can be used externally. Previous research had created fuel cells using bacteria, but they needed constant power. This new approach uses photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert light energy into chemical energy to produce electricity.

During this process, light triggers a flow of electrons from the water, which eventually leads to the formation of oxygen and sugar. This means that living photosynthetic cells constantly produce a stream of electrons that can be drawn as “photocurrent” and used to power an external circuit such as a solar cell.

Some plants, such as succulents in arid environments, have a thick cuticle on the leaves that retains water and nutrients. Janiv Schlosberg, Gadi Schuster and Adir wanted to test for the first time whether photosynthesis in succulents could generate energy for living solar cells using the internal water and nutrients of an electrochemical cell as the electrolyte solution.

Researchers have created a living solar cell using a fleshy solar cell. Corpuscularia lehmannii, also called “ice plant”. They placed an iron anode and a platinum cathode on one of the plant leaves and found its voltage to be 0.28 V. When connected to a circuit, it produced and sustained a photocurrent density of up to 20 µA/cm2 when exposed to light. produces current for more than one day. While these numbers are lower than a conventional alkaline battery, they only represent one leaf.

Previous work on similar organic devices shows that series connection of several blades can increase voltage. The team specifically designed the living solar cell so that the protons in the leaf’s inner solution can combine to form hydrogen gas at the cathode, and the hydrogen can be collected and used for other purposes. The researchers say their method could contribute to the development of future sustainable, multifunctional green energy technologies.