New progress in research on artificial photosynthesis in Japan

Japanese researchers report in a new issue of the British journal Nature that they have identified a three-dimensional structure of a photosynthesis "unit" in plantsThe discovery will help develop technologies for simulated plant photosynthesis and promise to provide new ideas for solving energy problems"text-align: "text-align":center;"img src""alt""Japanese artificial photosynthesis research new progress" title""new progress in japan's artificial photosynthesis research"the photometry system in plant leaf yralme ii is a photosynthesis "unit", which is a composite of proteins and catalysts that absorbs the energy of sunlight and breaks down water into hydrogen and oxygena team of researchers at Okama University and the Institute of Science and Science in Japan used SPring8, a large synchrotron radiation source, to study the catalyst structure in optical system II, but the catalyst was damaged by prolonged radiation and its exact structure was not clarified, the team analyzed the optical system II in detail using the high-performance X-ray free electron laser device SACLA, and found that the photosynthesis "units" consisted of 19 proteins and manganese-containing catalysts, and determined its three-dimensional structureresearchers say the catalyst in light system II looks like a twisted chair that breaks down water efficientlyThis discovery will inform the development of catalysts for artificial photosynthesisFor example, the development of artificial photosynthesis that converts solar energy efficiently into chemical or electrical energy is expected to be used in areas such as fuel cells for environmentally friendly vehiclesSource:for The Application of Microbiology Technologies