Symbiotic Photochemistry and Lichen-Inspired Biohybrid Architecture for Next-Generation Solar Fuel Reactors: Photonic Harvesting, PCET Pathways, and CO₂-to-Methanol Conversion

https://doi.org/10.65770/VSFV3422

ABSTRACT

The accelerating global energy crisis, rising CO₂ emissions, and ecological degradation have established an urgent need for renewable and sustainable fuel-generation technologies. While artificial photosynthesis and photocatalytic CO₂ conversion have advanced, many current platforms depend on rare-earth materials, toxic semiconductors, and fabrication methods that conflict with green chemistry principles. Here, we propose a fully conceptualized lichen-inspired biohybrid system that mimics natural symbiosis to generate solar fuels through hierarchical light harvesting, biomolecular redox mediation, and catalytic CO₂ reduction. Drawing from the structural–functional logic of lichens’ long-lived mutualisms between fungi (mycobionts) and photosynthetic partners (photobionts), we design a three-layer modular platform comprising: (i) natural chromophores (anthocyanins, flavonoids, carotenoids) for broadband solar absorption; (ii) chitin–cellulose composite scaffolds mimicking fungal hyphae for charge transport; and (iii) bio-derived redox mediators (riboflavin, NADH analogues, quinones) enabling multi-electron photoreduction cycles. The system directs photoexcited electrons toward catalytic centers (Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, Ni²⁺) for CO₂ → CH₃OH conversion, H₂ evolution, and O₂ evolution under sunlight, following newly derived mechanistic and thermodynamic equations. We further introduce the Lichen Biohybrid Solar Fuel Reactor (LBSFR), a theoretical, scalable platform integrating synthetic microbial symbiosis, biomimetic interfaces, and regulation networks that emulate lichen resilience. Through projected efficiencies, charge-transfer modeling, and pathway analysis, this work demonstrates how “lichen logic” can serve as a blueprint for future self-regulating, low-cost, biodegradable, and high-stability solar fuel devices.

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WSN 214 (2026) 38-60

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