Vancouver is a city that holds science in high regard, writes vancouver-name. Universities and other educational institutions offer various programs aimed at engaging young specialists.
A significant number of Vancouver’s scientists focus on environmental issues. As is well known, the natural world requires serious protection and conservation.
Alongside humanity’s rapid progress, flora and fauna have suffered greatly. Human activity often leads to the destruction of nature, causing the extinction of rare species of animals and plants.
However, not all hope is lost. Scientists who are well-versed in environmental challenges and actively work toward solutions manage to develop groundbreaking innovations. One of these advancements is solar power technology. The scientific community continues to refine these devices by integrating organic elements into their design.
In this article, referencing archi, we will highlight an extraordinary innovation developed by Vancouver scientists. With this discovery, researchers aimed to draw public attention to a critically important issue. Hopefully, they succeeded—after all, it is hard to deny that this topic deserves awareness and action.
A Unique Innovation
Scientists from the University of British Columbia have developed an organic photovoltaic cell based on photosynthetic bacteria. It is worth noting that this is not the first attempt to create a solar cell using living organisms. However, Vancouver scientists succeeded in inventing a low-cost, durable, and simple-to-manufacture device.
Additionally, this innovation can generate energy even from diffused light.
Main Objective
This invention is another step toward advancing solar energy while encouraging government attention to the issue. After all, Canada is not typically considered a sun-rich country.
The Development Process
Earlier attempts at creating biogenic photovoltaic converters involved extracting bacteria from natural pigments, which are essential for photosynthesis.
This process was both costly and complex, requiring the use of toxic solvents that could damage the pigment itself.
However, the Vancouver research team, led by Professor Vikramaditya Yadav, took a completely different approach. Instead of extracting the pigment from the bacteria, they opted to genetically modify the bacteria itself.
For their experiments, they used E. coli bacteria, enabling them to achieve a significantly higher concentration of lycopene.
During photosynthesis, lycopene acts as a light-harvesting element. Interestingly, this pigment is also responsible for giving tomatoes and watermelons their red-orange hue.
The next step involved coating the bacteria with titanium dioxide, a semiconductor material. Only after this process were the bacteria placed on a glass surface.
Scientific Breakthrough
Through experimentation, the scientists discovered that their device could generate an electric current density of 0.686 mA/cm². This is a significantly higher value compared to those achieved by previous research efforts in this field.
This means that Vancouver researchers have successfully created a highly efficient and impactful innovation. The practical applications of their development hold immense potential—not just for the scientific community but for humanity as a whole.