Jie YE;Shungui Zhou;Kenneth H. Nealson;Christopher Rensin

Department of Earth Science, University of Southern California, California 90007 (United States);Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002 (China);Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002 (China

biophotoelectrochemistry;solar energy;soils;emerging;photoelectric effect;soil communitie

Solar energy captured by photosynthetic plants in the photic zone is recognized as the main driver for the formation of organic matter utilized by soil communities. However, the contribution of organic transformation to the linkage of solar energy and microbial metabolism of soils is reduced when the vadose zone is saturated. Different from the conventional biophotoelectrochemistry via photosynthesis with phytoplankton during the periodic saturation of soils, recent studies suggest that non-phototrophic microorganisms in soils and sediments are able to conduct the light-dependent metabolism to sustain their functionality with photosensitizers under illumination. These interactions and processes utilize long-distance electron transfer networks to interconnect diverse electron transfer chains that channel photoexcited electrons into the opaque zone for soil communities. Such an emerging process not only makes for better understanding the biogeochemical process such as the carbon sequestration and mitigation in soil, but also shows great potential for the environmental treatment such as the bioremediation of contaminated soil. Therefore, we suggest here that the biophotoelectrochemistry via photoelectric effect can have significant, heretofore unappreciated values in theory and practical application.