Charge Transfer and Coherent Dynamics

THOMAS J. EISENMAYER; J LASAVE; FRANCESCO BUDA; ADRIANO MONTI

Leiden

Conferencia; Holland Research School of Molecular Chemistry; 2013

University of Leiden

In this work we address general, crucial questions regarding charge-separation processes in natural photosynthesis to identify the key features in the design of a bio-mimetic device. In particular, we elucidated the detailed path of primary electron transfer in the reaction center of a prototypical photosynthetic system, and we understood how nature prevents charge recombination to achieve an efficient unidirectional electron transport. We have explored the likely scenario of a proton-coupled electron transfer process being active in the primary step, and understand its role in stabilizing the electron path through the complex hydrogen-bond network of the reaction center. We then proceeded with a systematic build-up of simpler acceptor-donor models for artificial photosynthesis, where we do not only mimic the natural system but also optimize various specific aspects of the electron-transfer process.