SOLAR ENERGY HAS SUFFICIENT CAPACITY TO PROVIDE ABUNDANT CLEAN ENERGY TO OUR PLANET AND FINALLY END OUR RELIANCE ON FOSSIL FUELS. HOWEVER, THE CONVERSION OF SOLAR ENERGY TO USABLE ELECTRICITY IS CURRENTLY MORE EXPENSIVE THAN OUR WIDELY UTILIZED BUT ENVIRONMENTALLY POLLUTING ENERGY SOURCES. THIS PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE THE USE OF ABUNDANT AND RENEWABLE NATURAL PROTEINS, EXTRACTED FROM GREEN PLANTS AND AGRICULTURAL CROPS, AS NANOSCALE COMPONENTS THAT WILL BE INTEGRATED WITH ADVANCED MATERIALS TO PRODUCE BIOHYBRID SOLAR CELLS. THIS RESEARCH SEEKS TO REDUCE THE MATERIALS AND PROCESSING COSTS OF BIOHYBRID SOLAR CELLS WHILE INTRODUCING NEW INNOVATIONS TO IMPROVE THEIR OVERALL EFFICIENCIES.PHOTOSYSTEM I (PSI) PROTEINS EFFICIENTLY CONVERT THE LIGHT THEY ABSORB INTO CHEMICAL ENERGY TO DRIVE PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN GREEN PLANTS AND ACHIEVE THE HIGHEST REDUCING POTENTIALS IN NATURE. RESEARCHERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD HAVE INVESTIGATED THE EXTRACTION OF PSI PROTEINS FROM GREEN PLANTS AND CYANOBACTERIAAND THE INTEGRATION OF THE PROTEINS WITH MATERIALS TO PREPARE BIOHYBRID FILMS AND DEVICES. THE EFFICIENCIES OF SUCH SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN LIMITED BY THE ABILITY TO RAPIDLY TRANSFER ELECTRONS INTO AND OUT OF THE ACTIVE SITES OF PSI. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO TAKE A MAJOR STEP TOWARD COMMERCIALLY VIABLE BIOHYBRID SOLAR CELLS BY ELECTRICALLY WIRING PSI PROTEINS WITH CARBON QUANTUM DOTS AND CONDUCTING POLYMERS TO PROVIDE A DIRECT CONDUIT FOR THE MORE EFFICIENT TRANSFER OF ELECTRONS INTO AND FROM THE ACTIVE SITES OF PSI WHILE INCREASING THE LIGHT ABSORBED BY THE PROTEIN. THESE NEW PSI-WIRED CONJUGATES WILL BE EASIER TO INTERFACE WITH MATERIALS AND SURFACES TO ENABLE THE PREPARATION OF NEW SOLID-STATE SOLAR CELLS AND NATURAL DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLS THAT ARE EXPECTED TO GREATLY SURPASS THE PERFORMANCE OF TODAY'S BIOHYBRID CELLS. SOCIETY WILL ULTIMATELY BENEFIT FROM THIS WORK BY HAVING ACCESS TO MORE AFFORDABLE SOLAR CELLS THAT ARE PROCESSED FROM VASTLY ABUNDANT, RENEWABLE, AND TRULY GREEN COMPONENTS.