A scanning electron microscopy image shows bacterium Ralstonia eutropha cells on top of a bismuth vanadate semiconductor. Credit: Cornell University
When considering ways to sustainably generate environmentally friendly products, bacteria might not immediately spring to mind.
However, in recent years scientists have created microbe-semiconductor biohybrids that merge the biosynthetic power of living systems with the ability of semiconductors to harvest light. These microorganisms use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide into value-added chemical products, such as bioplastics and biofuels. But how that energy transport occurs in such a tiny, complex system, and whether the process can be improved, is still unclear.
Cornell researchers have developed a multimodal platform to image these biohybrids with single-cell resolution, to better