Thin, Flexible, and Inkjet-Printed Biophotovoltaic Cell Based on Thylakoid Membrane

This paper reports a thin and flexible biophotovoltaic (BPV) cell using thylakoid membranes. This BPV cell is fabricated by inkjet printing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and thylakoid membranes (TMs) on paper. The electrode produced by CNT inkjet printing had a low resistivity of 117.3 Ω/sq, and a large active electrochemical surface area was obtained due to the porous structure of paper substrates. Under light of 100 mW/cm
²
intensity, the photocurrent and power of the manufactured BPV cell were 4.8 mA/m
²
and 250 μW/m
²
, respectively. This power is 22 times higher than that of the existing algae-based inkjet-printed BPV cells.