Green plants use chlorophyll to capture the energy of sunlight and convert it to food.
The reaction center of this photosynthesis process, in which solar energy is converted to chemical energy, consists of a unique sandwich of the flat chlorophyll molecules. The U. of I. team has re-created this sandwich. Attached to it is another molecule to catch the electron released when light strikes the bagel. By using a big metal atom of zirconium to hold the two chlorophyll-like halves together and attaching an electron receptor to the side, researchers made a close model of the photosynthetic reaction center. The crystal structure of their model is similar to that of photosynthetic bacteria, but the scientific evidence so far indicates similar structures exist in all green plants, Suslick said.