The most prevalent of these pigments is chlorophyll. Due to the porphyrin ring structure of chlorophyll, electrons can move easily, thus allowing chlorophyll to capture the sun's energy. There are four types of chlorophyll ranging from a-d. The most important of these is chlorophyll a, for it passes the energized electrons to the molecules that produce glucose. Chlorophyll b is also an important type of chlorophyll, but unlike chlorophyll a, it is not vital to photosynthesis.
Chlorophyll b is found in green algae and certain plants, it is yellow green.
Chlorophyll b absorbs light of a different wavelength than chlorophyll a, but ultimately transfers it to chlorophyll a for conversion into chemical energy. Chlorophyll c is only found in photosynthetic Chromista and Dinoflagellates. Another class of pigments are the carotenoids. Carotenoids are typically yellow, orange, or red pigments. Carotenoids do not dissolve in water due to their two six carbon rings which are connected by a chain of carbon atoms.