Lessons from nature about solar light harvesting
Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2026

Harvesting Solar Energy by Means of Charge-Separating Nanocrystals and Their Solids
Published on: August 23, 2012
Gregory D Scholes1, Graham R Fleming, Alexandra Olaya-Castro
1Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St George Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3H6 Canada. greg.scholes@utoronto.ca
Abstract:
Solar fuel production often starts with the energy from light being absorbed by an assembly of molecules; this electronic excitation is subsequently transferred to a suitable acceptor. For example, in photosynthesis, antenna complexes capture sunlight and direct the energy to reaction centres that then carry out the associated chemistry. In this Review, we describe the principles learned from studies of various natural antenna complexes and suggest how to elucidate strategies for designing light-harvesting systems. We envisage that such systems will be used for solar fuel production, to direct and regulate excitation energy flow using molecular organizations that facilitate feedback and control, or to transfer excitons over long distances. Also described are the notable properties of light-harvesting chromophores, spatial-energetic landscapes, the roles of excitonic states and quantum coherence, as well as how antennas are regulated and photoprotected.
Related Concept Videos
Photoelectric Effect
P-N junction
Light Acquisition
Photoreceptors and Plant Responses to Light
Light as Energy
Photons
A photon is a discrete electromagnetic particle or bundle of energy. Photons are characterized by their frequency, wavelength, and amplitude, similar to the properties of a wave. Waves with higher frequencies transmit more energy and have shorter wavelengths than longer wavelengths that transmit less...
First Law of Thermodynamics
