Electronic Structure of Carotenoids in Natural and Artificial Photosynthesis

Abstract

This chapter is about a theoretical study applied to six carotenoids present in vegetables containing carotenes and xanthophylls. Electronic properties are analyzed such as energy in frontier orbitals and the first molecular orbitals to work in the UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. Electronic structure methodologies were used within the frame of the density functional theory (DFT) using the theoretical methods B3LYP/6-31G(d)// B3LYP/6-31G+(d,p) for ground states and B3LYP/6-31G(d)//CAM-B3LYP/6-31G+(d,p) for excited states. Results for the main absorption peak are in agreement with experimental results with a difference between zeaxanthin and violaxanthin results of 0.1 eV, approximately. The UV-Vis absorption spectra obtained for carotenoids are in good agreement with the experimental results. The possible use in energy generation systems is discussed for these systems. Diade chlorophyllide a-zeaxanthin was formed, and calculation results predicted energy transfer for these photosynthetic systems.

A New Biofertilizer Formulation with Enriched Nutrients Content from Wasted Algal Biomass Extracts Incorporated in Biogenic Powders

“…However, it is curious that G. pulchellum extract did not exhibit a chlorophyll signal. The weaker absorption bands at 445, 500, and 535 nm, recorded only in E. intestinalis extract, could indicate the presence of carotenoids [26,27]. However, it is unclear to which extent carotenoids and chlorophylls play a role in plant fertilization.…”

Chemotaxonomic classification of closed-related sweet oranges (Citrus sinensis L.) using principal component and cluster analysis of color and bi-oactive compounds in the orange peels

“…Carotenoids (along with chlorophylls) primarily absorb light in the visible region, and their in vivo measurement is feasible when exposed to UV light (Pérez-Gálvez and Fontecha, 2020;Virtanen et al, 2020). As indicated by Flores-Hidalgo et al (2017), electronic properties can be examined through energy representation in boundary orbitals, as demonstrated in UV-visible absorption spectroscopy. Certainly, light is undeniably a primary environmental factor influencing the color of fruits, significantly impacting the absorption spectrum by their carotenoid composition (Lado et al, 2019).…”

Extraction of Carotenoids and Fat-Soluble Vitamins from Tetradesmus Obliquus Microalgae: An Optimized Approach by Using Supercritical CO2

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