Organic molecules that capture photons and convert them into electricity have important
Quantum efficiency is considered loweroptimal if “self-extinguishing” takes place, when one molecule, excited by an incoming photon, gives up part of its energy to an identical unexcited molecule, as a result of which the two molecules are in an intermediate energy state, too low for the formation of an electron. But if electron donors and acceptors are better separated, self-damping is limited, so the quantum efficiency is improved.
"DNA represents an attractivescaffold for creating light-harvesting supramolecules: its helical structure, fixed distances between nucleotide bases and canonical base pairing precisely control the position of chromophores. Here we show that carbon buckyballs linked to modified nucleosides inserted into a DNA helix significantly improve quantum efficiency. We also show that the three-dimensional structure of the supramolecule is conserved not only in the liquid phase, but also in the solid phase, for example, in future organic solar cells."
Dr. Hans-Achim Wagenknecht, Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
As a framework, scientists usedsingle-stranded DNA, deoxyadenosine (A) and thymine (T) chains 20 nucleotides long. This length was chosen because theory suggests that shorter DNA oligonucleotides will not assemble in an orderly fashion, and longer ones are insoluble in water. The chromophores were fluorescent pyrene molecules with violet fluorescence and Nile red molecules with red fluorescence, each of which is non-covalently bound to one synthetic uracil deoxyribose nucleoside. Each nucleoside was base-paired with a DNA backbone, but the order of pyrene and Nile reds was left to chance during self-assembly.
As for electron acceptors, scientiststested two forms of buckyballs, also called fullerenes, which are known to have excellent quenching (electron reception) properties. Each buckyball was a hollow ball made of interlocking rings of five or six carbon atoms for a total of 60 carbon atoms per molecule. The first form of buckyball tested binds non-specifically to DNA through electrostatic charges. The second form - not previously tested as an electron acceptor - was covalently linked via malonic ether to two flanking U-deoxyribose nucleosides, which allowed it to base pair with nucleotide A on DNA.
Researchers have experimentally confirmed thatThe three-dimensional structure of a DNA-based supramolecule is maintained in the solid phase: this is a critical requirement for solar cell applications. To this end, they tested supramolecules with any shape of buckyballs as the active layer of a miniature solar cell. The designs showed excellent charge separation—the formation of a positive hole and a negative electron charge in the chromophore and their acceptance by neighboring buckyballs—with any buckyball shape, but especially so for the second shape.
The authors explain this by more specificbinding via canonical base pairing to the DNA backbone in the second form, which should result in a smaller distance between the buckyball and the chromophore. This means that the second form is best suited for use in solar cells.
Scientists don't expect everyone to havesolar cells with DNA on the roof. But the chirality of DNA is interesting: solar cells on this basis can perceive light with circular polarization in specialized applications.
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