Comparing photosynthetic and photovoltaic efficiencies is not a simple issue. Although both processes harvest the energy in sunlight, they operate in distinctly different ways and produce different types of products: biomass or chemical fuels in the case of natural photosynthesis and nonstored electrical current in the case of photovoltaics. In order to find common ground for evaluating energy-conversion efficiency, we compare natural photosynthesis with present technologies for photovoltaic-driven electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen. Photovoltaic-driven electrolysis is the more efficient process when measured on an annual basis, yet short-term yields for photosynthetic conversion under optimal conditions come within a factor of 2 or 3 of the photovoltaic benchmark. We consider opportunities in which the frontiers of synthetic biology might be used to enhance natural photosynthesis for improved solar energy conversion efficiency.

Surface modification of nanocrystalline metal oxide particles with enediol ligands was found to result in altered optical properties of nanoparticles. The surface modification results in a red shift of the semiconductor absorption compared to unmodified nanocrystallites. The optical shift is correlated to the dipole moment of the Ti-ligand complexes at the particle surface and decreases with the ligand size. The binding was found to be exclusively characteristic of colloids in the nanocrystalline domain(<20 nm). X-ray near-edge structure measurements at Ti K edge indicate that in this size domain the surface Ti atoms adjust their coordination environment to form undercoordinated sites. These five-coordinated defect sites are the source of novel enhanced and selective reactivity of the nanoparticle toward bidentate ligand binding as observed using IR spectroscopy. Enediol ligands have the optimal geometry for chelating surface Ti atoms, resulting in a five-membered ring coordination complex and restored six-coordinated octahedral geometry of surface Ti atoms. The binding of enediol ligands is enhanced because of the stability gained from adsorption-induced restructuring of the nanoparticle surface. Consistent behavior was found for the three different nanocrystalline metal oxide systems: TiO 2 , Fe 2 O 3 , and ZrO 2 .

We report on two multi-chromophore building blocks that self-assemble in solution and on surfaces into supramolecular light-harvesting arrays. Each building block is based on perylene-3,4:9,10-bis(dicarboximide) (PDI) chromophores. In one building block, N-phenyl PDI chromophores are attached at their para positions to both nitrogens and the 3 and 6 carbons of pyromellitimide to form a cross-shaped molecule (PI-PDI(4)). In the second building block, N-phenyl PDI chromophores are attached at their para positions to both nitrogens and the 1 and 7 carbons of a fifth PDI to produce a saddle-shaped molecule (PDI(5)). These molecules self-assemble into partially ordered dimeric structures (PI-PDI(4))(2) and (PDI(5))(2) in toluene and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran solutions with the PDI molecules approximately parallel to one another primarily due to pi-pi interactions between adjacent PDI chromophores. On hydrophobic surfaces, PDI(5) grows into rod-shaped nanostructures of average length 130 nm as revealed by atomic force microscopy. Photoexcitation of these supramolecular dimers in solution gives direct evidence of strong pi-pi interactions between the excited PDI chromophore and other PDI molecules nearby based on the observed formation of an excimer-like state in <130 fs with a lifetime of about 20 ns. Multiple photoexcitations of the supramolecular dimers lead to fast singlet-singlet annihilation of the excimer-like state, which occurs with exciton hopping times of about 5 ps, which are comparable to those observed in photosynthetic light-harvesting proteins from green plants.

Photosynthetic reaction centers (RCs) from the photosynthetic bacteria Rhodobacter sphaeroides and Rhodopseudomonas viridis are protein complexes closely related in both structure and function. The structure of the Rps. viridis RC was used to determine the structure of the RC from Rb. sphaeroides. Small but meaningful differences between the positions of the helices and the cofactors in the two complexes were identified. The distances between helices AL and AM, between BL and BM, and between bacteriopheophytins BPL and BPM are significantly shorter in Rps. viridis than they are in Rb. sphaeroides RCs. There are a number of differences in the amino acid residues that surround the cofactors; some of these residues form hydrogen bonds with the cofactors. Differences in chemical properties and location of these residues account in some manner for the different spectral properties of the two RCs. In several instances, the hydrogen bonds, as well as the apparent distances between the histidine ligands and the Mg atoms of the bacteriochlorophylls, were found to significantly differ from the Rb. sphaeroides RC structure previously described by Yeates et al. [(1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85, 7993-7997] and Allen et al. [(1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85, 8487-8491].

The structure of the photosynthetic reaction center (RC) from Rhodobacter sphaeroides was determined at 3.1-A resolution by the molecular replacement method, using the Rhodopseudomonas viridis RC as the search structure. Atomic coordinates were refined with the difference Fourier method and restrained least-squares refinement techniques to a current R factor of 22%. The tertiary structure of the RC complex is stabilized by hydrophobic interactions between the L and M chains, by interactions of the pigments with each other and with the L and M chains, by residues from the L and M chains that coordinate to the Fe2+, by salt bridges that are formed between the L and M chains and the H chain, and possibly by electrostatic forces between the ends of helices. The conserved residues at the N-termini of the L and M chains were identified as recognition sites for the H chain.

The bacterial photosynthetic reaction center contains bacteriochlorophyll (Bchl) and bacteriopheophytin (Bph) cofactors that provide natural probes of electrostatic fields within this protein. We have examined the electrochromic responses of these cofactors, resolved during the lifetimes of the quinone anion states, P+QA-QB and P+QAQB-, and measured as a function of temperature. These measurements provide information on the time-dependent variation in electrostatic field strength on the Bchl and Bph cofactors. Measurements in the near-infrared absorbance bands have revealed the following. First, the QA-QB-->QAQB- electron transfer rate is found to be heterogeneous, consisting of at least two distinct kinetic components. At room temperature, we find a previously unresolved fast kinetic component with a reaction time of 25-40 microseconds, depending upon the preparation, that accounts for approximately 25% of the total reaction yield. The major component was identified with a reaction time of 210-240 microseconds. Below -20 degrees C, QA-QB-->QAQB- electron transfer shows distributed kinetics. The temperature-dependent conversion from biphasic to distributed kinetics suggests that there is a thermal averaging of conformational substates around two reaction center configurations. Interestingly, direct excitation of the Bph with 532 nm light at low temperatures appears to alter the electron transfer kinetics, possibly by inducing a change in the distribution of conformational states. The reaction kinetics were found to be sensitive to the addition of ethylene glycol, which is likely to reflect an osmolarity effect. Second, time-dependent absorption changes of the Bchl and Bph cofactors are found to be kinetically decoupled. The rapid responses of the Bph bands are interpreted to reflect electron transfer, while the slower responses of the Bchl are interpreted to reflect slower relaxation events, possibly including proton uptake. Finally, we find that the electrochromic response and QA-QB-->QAQB- electron transfer to be sensitive to the preparative state of the reaction center, reflecting differences in quinone binding for reaction centers in different states of purification.

Pair distribution function (PDF) analysis was applied for structural characterization of the cobalt oxide water-splitting catalyst films using high energy X-ray scattering. The catalyst was found to be composed of domains consistent with a cobalt dioxide lattice sheet structure, possibly containing a Co(4)O(4) cubane-type "defect". The analysis identifies the film to consist of domains composed of 13-14 cobalt atoms with distorted coordination geometries that can be modeled by alteration in terminal oxygen atom positions at the domain edge. Phosphate is seen as a disordered component in the films. This work establishes an approach that can be applied to study the structure of in situ cobalt oxide water-splitting film under functional catalytic conditions.

The molecular replacement method has been succesfully used to provide a structure for the photosynthetic reaction center of Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides at 3.7 A resolution. Atomic coordinates derived from the R. viridu reaction center were used in the search structure. The crystallographic R-factor is 0.39 for reflections between 8 and 3.7 A. Validity of the resulting model is further suggested by the visualization of amino acid side chains not included in the R. viridis search structure, and by the arrangements of the reaction centers in the unit cell. In the initial calculations quinones or pigments were not included; nevertheless, in the resulting electron density map, electron density for both quinones QA and Qa appears along with the bacteriochlorophylls and bacteriopheophytins. Kinetic analysis of the charge recombination shows that the secondary quinone is fully functional in the R. sphaeroides crystal. Photosynthesis(Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides) Reaction center X-ray crystallograph? Molecular replacement