Structural and Mechanistic Studies of Natural and Artificial Photosynthesis

摘要

One approach to the utilization of solar energy is the development of devices that mimic natural photosynthesis. Such artificial photosynthesis efforts would be aided by a better understanding of the primary photochemical steps that occur in the natural process of photosynthesis. As a result our studies emphasize the mechanistic and structural details of natural photosynthesis that appear to be crucial to the design of artificial solar energy devices. At the same time molecules are synthesized to serve as biomimetic models of natural energy conversion molecules. The photophysics and photochemistry of these molecules are investigated with primary emphasis on light induced electron transfer reactions. The information derived from studies of these models is integrated with that obtained from the natural photosynthetic process in an iterative fashion that leads to better understanding of both the natural and laboratory photosynthetic systems. (ERA citation 08:031377)