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In astrophysics, photodissociation is one of the major processes through which molecules are broken down (but new molecules are being formed). Because of the vacuum of the interstellar medium, molecules and free radicals can exist for a long time. Photodissociation is the main path by which molecules are broken down.
The reaction center initiates a complex series of chemical reactions that capture energy in the form of chemical bonds. For photosystem II, when either of the two chlorophyll a molecules at the reaction center absorb energy, an electron is excited and transferred to an electron acceptor molecule, pheophytin , leaving the chlorophyll a in an ...
The reaction center is in the thylakoid membrane. It transfers absorbed light energy to a dimer of chlorophyll pigment molecules near the periplasmic (or thylakoid lumen) side of the membrane. This dimer is called a special pair because of its fundamental role in photosynthesis. This special pair is slightly different in PSI and PSII reaction ...
Chlorophyll is vital for photosynthesis, which allows plants to absorb energy from light. [16] Chlorophyll molecules are arranged in and around photosystems that are embedded in the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts. [17] In these complexes, chlorophyll serves three functions:
The antenna complex contains hundreds of chlorophyll molecules which funnel the excitation energy to the center of the photosystem. At the reaction center, the energy will be trapped and transferred to produce a high energy molecule. [2] The main function of PSII is to efficiently split water into oxygen molecules and protons.
With a total of 26 π-electrons, of which 18 π-electrons form a planar, continuous cycle, the porphyrin ring structure is often described as aromatic. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] One result of the large conjugated system is that porphyrins typically absorb strongly in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum, i.e. they are deeply colored.
Antenna molecules can absorb all wavelengths of light within the visible spectrum. [12] The number of these pigment molecules varies from organism to organism. For instance, the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus ( Thermosynechococcus elongatus ) has about 100 chlorophylls and 20 carotenoids, whereas spinach chloroplasts have around 200 ...
Electron transport chains often produce energy in the form of a transmembrane electrochemical potential gradient. The gradient can be used to transport molecules across membranes. Its energy can be used to produce ATP or to do useful work, for instance mechanical work of a rotating bacterial flagella.