Linkage of chemical energy conversion to ultrafast photochemistry in photosynthesis

摘要

High-quantum-yield, photochemical energy conversion requires that energy (photons) captured by ultra fast photophysical processes be converted to chemical or electrochemical products. Natural photosynthesis provides examples of systems in which photophysical and chemical processes are nearly optimally linked. The natural systems have a hierarchical design, consisting of discrete chemical subsystems that break photosynthesis into a sequence of individual photochemical and chemical reaction steps. This project examines the influence of specific protein microenvironments on the sequence of electron transfer and on the assembly of hierarchical, supramolecular photosynthetic assemblies.