Photosynthesis, artificial system design

Much has been written about artifical solar-energy converters - the reader is referred to references 10, 12, 14-17 for detailed treatments. Here I shall deal exclusively with those artificial systems designed to mimic various aspects of the photosynthesis reaction. 

The basic challenge of artificial photosynthesis is to design and prepare synthetic systems which mimic this natural process. We will consider the progress which has been made to date, but first it is desirable to review a little basic electron transfer theory. 

The fact that the pKa of the various oxidation states of quinones differ dramatically has been exploited in a recent design of artificial systems that mimic the light-driven transmembrane proton transport characteristic of natural photosynthesis [218]. Triad artificial reaction centers structurally related to 41 were vectorially inserted into the phospholipid bilayer of a liposome (vesicle) such that the majority of the quinone moieties are near the external surface of the membrane, and the majority of the carotenoids extend inward, toward the interior surface. The membrane... 

Electronic energy transfer from an excited state donor to a suitable acceptor is a fundamental process in photochemistry and is of prime importance in artificial photosynthesis. A variety of mechanisms exist by which energy migration and transfer can take placeand such processes have been used to create the so-called antenna effect . In particular, much research has concentrated on designing molecular systems in which an organic host is used to bind a lanthanide cation in such a way that photoexcitation of the host results in intramolecular energy transfer to the bound cation. ... 

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