Protein charge transfer far from equilibrium: a theoretical perspective.

Potential differences for protein-assisted electron transfer across lipid bilayers or in bio-nano setups can amount to several 100 mV; they lie far outside the range of linear response theory. We describe these situations by Pauli-master equations that are based on Marcus theory of charge transfer between self-trapped electrons and that obey Kirchhoff's current law. In addition, we take on-site blockade effects and a full non-linear response of the local potentials into account. We present analytical and numerical current-potential curves and electron populations for multi-site model systems and biological electron transfer chains. Based on these, we provide empirical rules for electron populations and chemical potentials along the chain. The Pauli-master mean-field results are validated by kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. We briefly discuss the biochemical and evolutionary aspects of our findings.

Monte Carlo simulation and thermodynamic integration applied to protein charge transfer.

We introduce a combination of Monte Carlo simulation and thermodynamic integration methods to address a model problem in free energy computations, electron transfer in proteins. The feasibility of this approach is tested using the ferredoxin protein from Clostridium acidurici. The results are compared to numerical solutions of the Poisson-Boltzmann equation and data from recent molecular dynamics simulations on charge transfer in a protein complex, the NrfHA nitrite reductase of Desulfovibrio vulgaris. Despite the conceptual and computational simplicity of the Monte Carlo approach, the data agree well with those obtained by other methods. A link to experiments is established via the cytochrome subunit of the bacterial photosynthetic reaction center of Rhodopseudomonas viridis.

Synergetic effects of Fe3+ doped spinel Li4Ti5O12 nanoparticles on reduced graphene oxide for high surface electrode hybrid supercapacitors.

In this work, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) based electrode materials were developed to achieve a hybrid supercapacitor (SC) function. Therefore, several synthesis methods were developed to prepare a cost effective and environmentally friendly rGO. Additionally, to maintain the high surface area, spinel lithium titanate (sLTO) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized and deposited on the rGO surface to inhibit the restacking of the rGO layers on graphite. Furthermore, the adequate Fe-doping of sLTO increased the ionic conductivity and the intercalation capacity, which is necessary for a SC performance. The sLTO/rGO-composites were electrochemically analysed by chronopotentiometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to determine the stability during charge/discharge cycling and the capacity, respectively. To overcome the drawback of LTO's low conductivity values, its value has been drastically increased by Fe-doping. The results demonstrated the remarkable cycling performance of the Fe:LTO/rGO composite as well as a higher capacity compared to LTO/rGO and pure rGO-electrodes. The thermal stability, degradation and weight loss of the sLTO/rGO in the temperature range between 20 °C and 800 °C were investigated by thermogravimetry (TG)/DTA. As a conclusion, it can be stated that, increasing the ionic conductivity by Fe-doping drastically increases the hybrid capacity of the SC electrodes.

High-Capacitance Hybrid Supercapacitor Based on Multi-Colored Fluorescent Carbon-Dots.

Multi-colored, water soluble fluorescent carbon nanodots (C-Dots) with quantum yield changing from 4.6 to 18.3% were synthesized in multi-gram using dated cola beverage through a simple thermal synthesis method and implemented as conductive and ion donating supercapacitor component. Various properties of C-Dots, including size, crystal structure, morphology and surface properties along with their Raman and electron paramagnetic resonance spectra were analyzed and compared by means of their fluorescence and electronic properties. α-Manganese Oxide-Polypyrrole (PPy) nanorods decorated with C-Dots were further conducted as anode materials in a supercapacitor. Reduced graphene oxide was used as cathode along with the dicationic bis-imidazolium based ionic liquid in order to enhance the charge transfer and wetting capacity of electrode surfaces. For this purpose, we used octyl-bis(3-methylimidazolium)diiodide (C8H16BImI) synthesized by N-alkylation reaction as liquid ionic membrane electrolyte. Paramagnetic resonance and impedance spectroscopy have been undertaken in order to understand the origin of the performance of hybrid capacitor in more depth. In particular, we obtained high capacitance value (C = 17.3 µF/cm2) which is exceptionally related not only the quality of synthesis but also the choice of electrode and electrolyte materials. Moreover, each component used in the construction of the hybrid supercapacitor is also played a key role to achieve high capacitance value.