Light manipulation using organic semiconducting materials for enhanced photosynthesis

Abstract Photosynthetic microorganisms, such as algae, are sources of bioproducts and pharmaceuticals. As they require only sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow, they have potential for future mitigation of CO2 emissions. However, inefficiencies in the growth of these organisms remains an issue for realizing these emission reductions, primarily in terms of photosynthetic efficiency, photoinhibition, and photolimitation. Here, we show how the use of light filtration through semi-transparent films comprised of organic π-conjugated molecules and subsequent organic photovoltaic devices, has the potential to improve the photosynthetic efficiency of algae, and the total power generation of a combined organic photovoltaic/algae system. Experimental data is used to fit a photosynthetic model predicting algal photosynthetic growth given light intensity and light transmission through an organic photovoltaic device. This work demonstrates the feasibility of using a system combining photosynthetic growth with electricity-producing organic photovoltaics and provides a template for exploring other blended applications of these technologies.