An energy-carbon dual-control biohybrid: integrating photosynthetic microorganisms with patterned perovskite solar cells for concurrent electricity and biopolymer production

Photosynthetic carbon capture and solar electricity generation have traditionally been developed as separate systems, with photosynthetic microorganisms (PSMs) used for CO₂ fixation and perovskite solar cells (PSCs) used for electricity generation. However, PSMs are susceptible to photoinhibition under continuous high light, whereas PSCs lack the capacity for direct carbon conversion. To overcome this limitation, we developed an energy-and-carbon dual-control (E2C2) system that integrates patterned PSCs with engineered PSMs to enable simultaneous solar energy harvesting and biopolymer production from CO₂. The PSCs were UV-laser–patterned in a honeycomb design to deliver a 10 Hz flashing light (FL) regime optimized for PSM cultivation, thereby enhancing photosynthetic efficiency while generating electricity. Vertically integration of the two systems maximized the E2C2 spatiotemporal resource utilization by enabling the same light to generate both electricity generation and photosynthesis. Under simulated light of 350 W m−2, PSCs with a 3 mm aperture passively produced ∼ 10 Hz FL, resulting in 8.80-fold and 11.03-fold increases in PHB yield compared with 0 mm PSCs and systems without PSCs, respectively, while generating 429.52 Wh of electricity over 2000 h. The system achieved a global warming potential of −8.42kg CO₂eq.kg−1 PHB, confirming its environmental sustainability.