Enhanced Biophotocatalytic Performance via Photoinduced Interfacial Charge Transfer in MIP-208/E. coli Hybrids

Photosynthetic biohybrid systems (PBSs) represent a new paradigm combining the photon-capturing function of synthetic photodynamic sensitizers with the complex catalytic apparatus of living beings, and it is very promising for sustainable energy conversion. In order to avoid the dependence of intricate structural hybridization on interfacial electron transfer, we rationally designed a binary semi-artificial photosynthetic system that connects MIP-208 and Escherichia coli. This integrated platform has preserved the inherent metabolic ability of the biological chassis and significantly enhanced its capacity to utilise solar energy. Under the condition of 100 mW cm⁻² light irradiation, the MIP-208/E. coli system achieved a hydrogen production yield of 40.0 μmol per 10¹⁰ cells, which is 4.3 times that of the bacteria-only group. This work offers new ideas for the reasonable design of light-driven biohybrid systems to achieve hydrogen production.