Nanofunctionalized Chlorella cells with photo stimulation for biological hydrogen production
Hydrogen production by photosynthetic green algae is an efficient biological process that utilizes light energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into clean and renewable energy. In this paper, we constructed a hybrid system combining graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) and Chlorella pyrenoidosa (Chlorella), in which g-C3N4 serves as an extracellular electron source and Chlorella acts as a biological reactor for specific hydrogen production. In particular, the electronic structure of carbon nitride was optimized by means of hydrothermal alkalization and copper ion doping, expanded the light absorption range and enhanced the light response ability. g-C3N4, as an extracellular electron source, can provide electrons for Chlorella to improve hydrogen production performance which is 3.7 times that of bare Chlorella. The construction of a biological hybrid system is a feasible optimization strategy for the hybrid system to promote the synergistic effect of the hybrid system by regulating the properties of non-living components.