초록
<P>Sustainable production of solar-based chemicals is possible by mimicking the natural photosynthetic mechanism. To realize the full potential of solar-to-chemical production, the artificial means of photosynthesis and the biological approach should complement each other. The recently developed hybrid microbe–metal interface combines an inorganic, semiconducting light-harvester material with efficient and simple microorganisms, resulting in a novel metal–microbe interface that helps the microbes to capture energy directly from sunlight. This solar energy is then used for sustainable biosynthesis of chemicals from CO<SUB>2</SUB>. This review discusses various approaches to improve the electron uptake by microbes at the bioinorganic interface, especially self-photosensitized microbial systems and integrated water splitting biosynthetic systems, with emphasis on CO<SUB>2</SUB> bioelectrosynthesis.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Many self-photosensitized bioinorganic hybrid systems have recently been developed by exploiting material–microbe interactions. These hybrids combine the complex functionality of biological systems and inorganic materials to efficiently catalyze the photoreduction of CO<SUB>2</SUB> to chemicals and fuel precursors. </LI> <LI> The multifaceted mechanism of material–microbe interactions depends on several factors, including the band-gap of the material, biomineralization strategy, biocompatibility, nature of membrane-bound proteins, and electron carriers. </LI> <LI> Well-organized biohybrid materials can be used to develop bio-inspired materials for biomedical and therapeutic applications. Genetically improving microbes can further improve the biohybrid performance. </LI> </UL> </P>