Both electronic and vibrational coherences are involved in primary electron transfer in bacterial reaction center.

Nat Commun

Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Published: February 2019

Understanding the mechanism behind the near-unity efficiency of primary electron transfer in reaction centers is essential for designing performance-enhanced artificial solar conversion systems to fulfill mankind's growing demands for energy. One of the most important challenges is distinguishing electronic and vibrational coherence and establishing their respective roles during charge separation. In this work we apply two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy to three structurally-modified reaction centers from the purple bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides with different primary electron transfer rates. By comparing dynamics and quantum beats, we reveal that an electronic coherence with dephasing lifetime of ~190 fs connects the initial excited state, P*, and the charge-transfer intermediate [Formula: see text]; this [Formula: see text] step is associated with a long-lived quasi-resonant vibrational coherence; and another vibrational coherence is associated with stabilizing the primary photoproduct, [Formula: see text]. The results show that both electronic and vibrational coherences are involved in primary electron transfer process and they correlate with the super-high efficiency.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6389996PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-08751-8DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

primary electron
16
electron transfer
16
electronic vibrational
12
vibrational coherence
12
[formula text]
12
vibrational coherences
8
coherences involved
8
involved primary
8
reaction centers
8
electronic
5

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!