Bacterial photosynthetic reaction center harvests more light thanks to tailored organic antenna
Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - 07:32
in Physics & Chemistry
Getting energy from sunlight: Plants have it down; humans have not quite got the knack for it. Hybrid systems made from natural and synthetic components could open new routes for harvesting solar energy. Italian researchers have now introduced an approach to this type of system. As described in the journal Angewandte Chemie, they have combined the photochemical core of a bacterial photosynthetic system with an organic dye that acts as an "antenna", significantly improving the capture of light.