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U.S. Department of Energy
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Primary events of photosynthesis

Conference ·
OSTI ID:6337065
The primary events of photosynthesis are those photophysical and photochemical events that occur immediately after absorption of a photon by the photosynthetic pigments. The primary events include the migration of singlet excitons among the antenna pigments, exciton trapping by the reaction center, and a sequence of several electron transfer steps that leads to the formation of a stable electron-hole separation. All of the primary events occur within protein complexes which include chlorophylls, carotenoids, quinones, and various other transfer components. These complexes are called photosystems. Photosystems reside in a special photosynthetic membrane in organisms such as algae, higher plants, purple photosynthetic bacteria, and green photosynthetic bacteria. In this manuscript the primary events of photosynthesis are summarized with particular attention to the principles that they might hold for the design of molecular electronic devices.
Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
W-31109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
6337065
Report Number(s):
CONF-8103158-1; ON: DE83007780
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English