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Science 7 April 1989:
Vol. 244. no. 4900, pp. 35 - 41
DOI: 10.1126/science.244.4900.35
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Articles

Mimicking Photosynthesis

DEVENS GUST 1 and THOMAS A. MOORE 1

1 Professor in the Department of Chemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, and also associated with the ASU Center for the Study of Early Events in Photosynthesis.

Although the concept of an artificial photosynthetic reaction center that mimics natural electron-and energy-transfer processes is an old one, in recent years major advances have occurred. In this review, some relatively simple molecular dyads that mimic certain aspects of photosynthetic electron transfer and singlet or triplet energy transfer are described. Dyads of this type have proven to be extremely useful for elucidating basic photochemical principles. In addition, their limitations, particularly in the area of temporal stabilization of electronic charge separation, have inspired the development of much more complex multicomponent molecular devices. The use of the basic principles of photoinitiated electron transfer to engineer desirable properties into the more complex species is exemplified. The multiple electrontransfer pathways available with these molecules make it possible to fine-tune the systems in ways that are impossible with simpler molecules. The study of these devices not only contributes to our understanding of natural photosynthesis, but also aids in the design of artificial solar energy harvesting systems and provides an entry into the nascent field of molecular electronics.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Approaches for biological and biomimetic energy conversion.
D. A. LaVan and J. N. Cha (2006)
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Mimicking the antenna-electron transfer properties of photosynthesis.
M. Sykora, K. A. Maxwell, J. M. DeSimone, and T. J. Meyer (2000)
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Efficient Multistep Photoinitiated Electron Transfer in a Molecular Pentad.
D. Gust, T. A. Moore, A. L. Moore, S.-J. Lee, E. Bittersmann, D. K. Luttrull, A. A. Rehms, J. M. DeGraziano, X. C. Ma, F. Gao, et al. (1990)
Science 248, 199-201
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