TY - JOUR
T1 - Energy conversion in natural and artificial photosynthesis
AU - McConnell, Iain
AU - Li, Gonghu
AU - Brudvig, Gary W.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (GM32715) and the Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy (DE−FG02−07ER15909).
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Modern civilization is dependent upon fossil fuels, a nonrenewable energy source originally provided by the storage of solar energy. Fossil-fuel dependence has severe consequences, including energy security issues and greenhouse gas emissions. The consequences of fossil-fuel dependence could be avoided by fuel-producing artificial systems that mimic natural photosynthesis, directly converting solar energy to fuel. This review describes the three key components of solar energy conversion in photosynthesis: light harvesting, charge separation, and catalysis. These processes are compared in natural and in artificial systems. Such a comparison can assist in understanding the general principles of photosynthesis and in developing working devices, including photoelectrochemical cells, for solar energy conversion.
AB - Modern civilization is dependent upon fossil fuels, a nonrenewable energy source originally provided by the storage of solar energy. Fossil-fuel dependence has severe consequences, including energy security issues and greenhouse gas emissions. The consequences of fossil-fuel dependence could be avoided by fuel-producing artificial systems that mimic natural photosynthesis, directly converting solar energy to fuel. This review describes the three key components of solar energy conversion in photosynthesis: light harvesting, charge separation, and catalysis. These processes are compared in natural and in artificial systems. Such a comparison can assist in understanding the general principles of photosynthesis and in developing working devices, including photoelectrochemical cells, for solar energy conversion.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.chembiol.2010.05.005
DO - 10.1016/j.chembiol.2010.05.005
M3 - Review article
C2 - 20534342
AN - SCOPUS:77954196565
VL - 17
SP - 434
EP - 447
JO - Cell Chemical Biology
JF - Cell Chemical Biology
SN - 2451-9448
IS - 5
ER -