Researchers have made tiny ‘skyscrapers’ for communities of bacteria, helping them to generate electricity from just sunlight and water

The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, are using 3D printing to create grids of high-rise ‘nano-housing’ where photosynthetic bacteria can grow quickly. The researchers were then able to extract the bacteria’s waste electrons, left over from photosynthesis, which could be used to power small electronics. This has been tried previously but the Cambridge researchers have found that providing the bacteria with the correct type of environment  can increase the amount of energy that can be extracted by over an order of magnitude. The approach is competitive against traditional methods of renewable bioenergy generation and has already reached solar conversion efficiencies that can outcompete many current methods of biofuel generation.

Photosynthetic bacteria, or cyanobacteria, are the most abundant life form on Earth. In order to grow, cyanobacteria need lots of sunlight – like the surface of a lake in the summertime. To extract the energy the Cambridge team 3D-printed custom electrodes out of metal oxide nanoparticles that are tailored to work with the cyanobacteria as they perform photosynthesis. The electrodes were printed as highly branched, densely packed pillar structures, like a tiny city. 



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