Development and Application of Porphyrin-Maquette Complexes: Towards Artificial Photosynthesis

This study looks at developing an artificial reaction centre with photogenerated electron transfer. Naturally occurring photosynthetic reaction centres utilise proteins to house photoactive material, which is coupled with redox enzymes for catalytic reactions to produce chemical fuels. Photosynthetic systems provide inspiration for designing new means to produce renewable energy, whereby sunlight can produce fuels in the form of chemical energy. Artificially designed proteins with synthetically produced porphyrins can potentially be employed to mimic the natural photosynthetic reaction centre for light-induced charge separation. This charge separation is fundamental for conversion of light energy to other forms of energy.