Light Absorption and Energy Transfer in the Antenna Complexes of Photosynthetic Organisms

The process of photosynthesis is initiated by the capture of sunlight by a network of light-absorbing molecules (chromophores), which are also responsible for the subsequent funneling of the excitation energy to the reaction centers. Through evolution, genetic drift, and speciation, photosynthetic organisms have discovered many solutions for light harvesting. In this review, we describe the underlying photophysical principles by which this energy is absorbed, as well as the mechanisms of electronic excitation energy transfer (EET). First, optical properties of the individual pigment chromophores present in light-harvesting antenna complexes are introduced, and then we examine the collective behavior of…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy

  Award: DE-SC0001035
• CI
  Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
• KN
  Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen
• VU
  Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

  Award: 267333
• UO
  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• OO
  Office of Science

  Award: DE-SC0001035
• NS
  Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
• ER
  European Research Council

  Award: 267333
• SF
  Seventh Framework Programme

  Award: 323901
• BE
  Basic Energy Sciences

  Award: DE-SC0001035