Poly(benzimidazolium-phenylthiophene) Featuring Flexible Cationic Backbone Enhanced Photosynthesis of <italic style="font-style: italic">Chlorella pyrenoidosa</italic>

Xiao-Long Xu; Jian-Tao Lin; Sheng-Peng Xia; Yan Zhao; Hao-Tian Bai; Yi-Ming Huang

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3562-4

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Poly(benzimidazolium-phenylthiophene) Featuring Flexible Cationic Backbone Enhanced Photosynthesis of Chlorella pyrenoidosa

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-03-26

- Poly(benzimidazolium-phenylthiophene) Featuring Flexible Cationic Backbone Enhanced Photosynthesis of Chlorella pyrenoidosa
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Issue 4, Pages: 1059-1068(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
  b.College of Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Author bio：
  
  baihaotian@iccas.ac.cn (H.T.B.)
  ymhuang@iccas.ac.cn (Y.M.H.)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3562-4
  CLC：
- Received：11 December 2025，
  
  Accepted：06 January 2026，
  
  Online First：03 March 2026，
  
  Published：05 April 2026
- Accepted：
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Xu, X. L.; Lin, J. T.; Xia, S. P.; Zhao, Y.; Bai, H. T.; Huang, Y. M. Poly(benzimidazolium-phenylthiophene) featuring flexible cationic backbone enhanced photosynthesis of Chlorella pyrenoidosa. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 1059–1068

Xiao-Long Xu, Jian-Tao Lin, Sheng-Peng Xia, et al. Poly(benzimidazolium-phenylthiophene) Featuring Flexible Cationic Backbone Enhanced Photosynthesis of Chlorella pyrenoidosa[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(4): 1059-1068.
Xu, X. L.; Lin, J. T.; Xia, S. P.; Zhao, Y.; Bai, H. T.; Huang, Y. M. Poly(benzimidazolium-phenylthiophene) featuring flexible cationic backbone enhanced photosynthesis of Chlorella pyrenoidosa. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 1059–1068 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3562-4.

Xiao-Long Xu, Jian-Tao Lin, Sheng-Peng Xia, et al. Poly(benzimidazolium-phenylthiophene) Featuring Flexible Cationic Backbone Enhanced Photosynthesis of Chlorella pyrenoidosa[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(4): 1059-1068. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3562-4.

摘要

In this study

polybenzimidazolium derivatives with a flexible cationic backbone were designed and synthesized

which interacted with

Chlorella pyrenoidosa

and enhanced its photosynthetic efficiency. The strategy of constructing artificial photosynthetic biohybrid systems by combining energy-conversion materials with microorganisms provides an important approach for boosting photosynthesis and biomass synthesis.

Abstract

The development of synthetic hybrid biological systems integrating photosynthetic organisms with organic-abiotic functional materials holds significant promise for enhancing photosynthetic processes. The artificial regulation of the state transition between photosystem I (PSI) and photosystem II (PSII)

represents a strategic and promising approach for improving the efficiency of natural photosynthesis. In this study

we demonstrate that poly(benzimidazolium-phenylthiophene) (CP4) featuring a flexible cationic backbone exhibits superior ultraviolet light-harvesting capability. The polymer CP4 enhanced PSI activity in

Chlorella pyrenoidosa

(

C. pyrenoidosa)

subsequently promoting PSII activity and augmenting overall photosynthetic performance. During light-dependent reactions

CP4 significantly accelerated photosynthetic electron transfer

resulting in a 330% increase in the production of oxygen and 93% and 96% increases in the ATP and NADPH contents

respectively. In the context of dark reactions

CP4 facilitated the conversion and utilization of light energy

leading to a 6% increase in both carbohydrate and protein contents. These findings indicate that synthetic light-harvesting polymer materials exhibit considerable application potential in the field of biomass production through enhancement of natural photosynthetic efficiency.

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Poly(benzimidazolium-phenylthiophene) Featuring Flexible Cationic Backbone Enhanced Photosynthesis of Chlorella pyrenoidosa

DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3562-4

摘要

Abstract

关键词

Keywords

references