Photosynthetic microorganisms, such as algae, are sources of bioproducts. Because they require only sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to grow, they have potential for future mitigation of CO₂ emissions. However, inefficient growth of these organisms remains an issue for realizing these emission reductions, primarily in terms of photosynthetic efficiency, photoinhibition, and photolimitation. Here, we show how use of light filtration through semi-transparent films comprised of organic π-conjugated molecules and organic photovoltaic devices has the potential to improve the photosynthesis efficiency of algae and the total power generation of a combined organic photovoltaic/algal system. Experimental data are used to fit a photosynthetic model predicting algal photosynthetic growth given light intensity and light transmission through an organic photovoltaic device. This work demonstrates the feasibility of using an “agrivoltaic” system combining photosynthetic growth with electricity-producing organic photovoltaics and provides a template for exploring other blended applications of these technologies.

光合微生物，例如藻类，是生物产品的来源。由于它们仅需要阳光，水和二氧化碳才能生长，因此它们有可能在未来减轻CO _2的排放。排放。然而，这些生物的低效生长仍然是实现这些减排的一个问题，主要是在光合作用效率，光抑制和光限制方面。在这里，我们展示了如何通过包含有机π共轭分子的半透明薄膜和有机光伏器件进行光过滤，具有改善藻类的光合作用效率和组合有机光伏/藻类系统总发电量的潜力。实验数据用于拟合光合作用模型，该模型在给定光强度和通过有机光伏器件的光传输的情况下预测藻类光合作用的增长。