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Chlorophyll is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. [2] Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρός (khloros, "pale green") and φύλλον (phyllon, "leaf"). [3] Chlorophyll allows plants to absorb energy from light.
The following is a breakdown of the energetics of the photosynthesis process from Photosynthesis by Hall and Rao: [6]. Starting with the solar spectrum falling on a leaf, 47% lost due to photons outside the 400–700 nm active range (chlorophyll uses photons between 400 and 700 nm, extracting the energy of one 700 nm photon from each one)
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.
Chlorophyll a in the reaction center is the only pigment to pass boosted electrons to an acceptor (modified from 2). Absorption of light by photosynthetic pigments converts photons into chemical energy. Light energy radiating onto the chloroplast strikes the pigments in the thylakoid membrane and excites their
The light-harvesting system of PSI uses multiple copies of the same transmembrane proteins used by PSII. The energy of absorbed light (in the form of delocalized, high-energy electrons) is funneled into the reaction center, where it excites special chlorophyll molecules (P700, with maximum light absorption at 700 nm) to a higher energy level.
Due to the presence of chlorophyll a, as opposed to bacteriochlorophyll, Photosystem II absorbs light at a shorter wavelength. The pair of chlorophyll molecules at the reaction center are often referred to as P680. [1] When the photon has been absorbed, the resulting high-energy electron is transferred to a nearby pheophytin molecule.
Top: Absorption spectra for chlorophyll-A, chlorophyll-B, and carotenoids extracted in a solution. Bottom: PAR action spectrum (oxygen evolution per incident photon) of an isolated chloroplast. Chlorophyll , the most abundant plant pigment, is most efficient in capturing red and blue light.
Light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis at the thylakoid membrane. Photosystems are functional and structural units of protein complexes involved in photosynthesis. Together they carry out the primary photochemistry of photosynthesis: the absorption of light and the transfer of energy and electrons.