Photosynthesis replication hope from novel spectroscopic technique

Understanding the mechanism of photosynthesis could lead to methods of producing highly efficient solar energy. The new spectroscopy - 2D HYSCORE - is reportedly able to capture the reactions that split water and hydrogen peroxide in metal-containing proteins or metallo-enzymes in nature.

The researchers, led by Rensselaer professor K.V. Lakshmi, developed the method as part of an on-going investigation into the photosynthetic protein, Photosystem II. Details of the research “Two-Dimensional HYSCORE Spectroscopy of Superoxidised Manganese Catalase: A Model for the Oxygen-Evolving Complete of Photosystem II” were published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry.

“The solar-powered water-splitting photosynthetic protein complex, Photosystem II, catalyses one of the most energetically demanding reactions in nature by using light energy to split water to di-oxygen,” Lakshmi said in a statement. “However, the details of the water-splitting reaction have remained elusive due to the inability of conventional methods to probe the active site of metal-containing proteins, like Photosystem II.”