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In chemistry, many reactions depend on the absorption of photons to provide the energy needed to overcome the activation energy barrier and hence can be labelled light-dependent. Such reactions range from the silver halide reactions used in photographic film to the creation and destruction of ozone in the upper atmosphere.
Each photosystem has two main subunits: an antenna complex (a light harvesting complex or LHC) and a reaction center. The antenna complex is where light is captured, while the reaction center is where this light energy is transformed into chemical energy. At the reaction center, there are many polypeptides that are surrounded by pigment proteins.
Photosynthesis occurs in two stages. In the first stage, light-dependent reactions or light reactions capture the energy of light and use it to make the hydrogen carrier NADPH and the energy-storage molecule ATP. During the second stage, the light-independent reactions use these products to capture and reduce carbon dioxide.
Redox reactions are chemical reactions in which electrons are transferred from a donor molecule to an acceptor molecule. The underlying force driving these reactions is the Gibbs free energy of the reactants relative to the products. If donor and acceptor (the reactants) are of higher free energy than the reaction products, the electron ...
Photoexcitation is the first step in a photochemical process where the reactant is elevated to a state of higher energy, an excited state.The first law of photochemistry, known as the Grotthuss–Draper law (for chemists Theodor Grotthuss and John W. Draper), states that light must be absorbed by a chemical substance in order for a photochemical reaction to take place.
The water-splitting reaction occurs on the lumenal side of the thylakoid membrane and is driven by the light energy captured by the photosystems. This oxidation of water conveniently produces the waste product O 2 that is vital for cellular respiration. The molecular oxygen formed by the reaction is released into the atmosphere.
Photodissociation, photolysis, photodecomposition, or photofragmentation is a chemical reaction in which molecules of a chemical compound are broken down by absorption of light or photons. It is defined as the interaction of one or more photons with one target molecule that dissociates into two fragments.
Photosystem II (of cyanobacteria and green plants) is composed of around 20 subunits (depending on the organism) as well as other accessory, light-harvesting proteins. Each photosystem II contains at least 99 cofactors: 35 chlorophyll a, 12 beta-carotene , two pheophytin , two plastoquinone , two heme , one bicarbonate, 20 lipids, the Mn