Abstract
To copy natural photosynthesis process we need to understand and explain the physics underneath its first step mechanism, which is “how to separate electrical charges under attraction”. But this Nature’s nanotechnological creation is not yet available to the scientific community. We present a new interpretation for the artificial and natural photosynthetic mechanism, concerning the electrical charges separation and the spent energy to promote the process. Interface (e–, h+) recombination and emission is applied to explain the photosynthetic mechanisms. This interpretation is based on energy bands relative position, the staggered one, which under illumination promotes (e–, h+) charges separation through the action of an interface electric field and energy consumption at the interface of both A/B generic materials. Energy band bending is responsible by the interface electric field (and the driving force) for the charges separation. This electric field can be as high or above that for p-n semiconductor junctions (104 - 105 V/cm). This physical effect is not considered by most of the researches. Without an electric field and without spending energy to separate electrical charges, any other existing model violates physical laws. The staggered energy band type is the only energetic configuration that permits charges separation under illumination and energy loss to perform the process. Application to natural photosynthesis and artificial photovoltaic material and their energetic configurations are discussed. Examples for A/B being III-V/III-V, TiO2/materials and II-VI/II-VI staggered energy band gap pairs are presented. In the proposed quantum mechanism, plants are able to eliminate most of the 79% of the absorbed visible light, according to the published reflection and transmission data. Moreover, the proposed mechanism can be applied to explain green fluorescent protein - GFP, charge transfer states - CTS and Fluorescent Resonance Energy Transfer - FRET. As recent literature experimental results propose photosynthesis as a quantum controlled mechanism, our proposition goes forward this direction.
Highlights
Synthesis using light is the literal meaning of photosynthesis
As Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) is a radiationless energy transmission mechanism, we propose that the actual physical/ optical mechanism can be regarded as a radiation interface emission mechanism, for many systems, based on type II interface properties
In conclusion to this section, we propose the staggered energetic interface to explain the photosynthesis, FRET and green fluorescent proteins (GFP) processes, instead of the ground state energy configuration
Summary
Synthesis using light is the literal meaning of photosynthesis. It is the process by which plants are able to collect electromagnetic energy, mostly solar energy, that is used by organisms to synthesize complex carbon compounds. Our proposed model accounts for both: the necessary electric field and the spent energy It seems to be the only energetic configuration capable of providing charges separation under excitation of light, and it is based on staggered energy band gaps between two different materials of nanometric dimensions. The present proposal provides both: the necessary electric field and the spent energy to separate negative from positive charges It will be applied and discussed for both inorganic and organic systems. As GSE is not feasible in physical systems, the staggered band energy configuration (Figure 1) provides the major benefit for the light reaction of photosynthesis: the electric field (driving force) for (e–, h+) electrical charges separation. Type II (staggered) energetic interface is proposed to overcome the problem
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