Inter‐Aromatic Distances in Geobacter Sulfurreducens Pili Relevant to Biofilm Charge Transport

Geobacter sulfurreducens pili are ­implicated in facilitating electron transfer to electrode surfaces. Comparisons are made between the conductivity of pili and that of doped organic semi­conductors, invoking mechanisms such as “electron hopping” or “metallic conduction”. Ana­lysis of inter-aromatic distances in these pili models shows that charge-carrier transport involving only the π-conjugated system of GS pili is negligible.