Pinning down the Chemistry of Photosynthetic Water Splitting

Plants efficiently convert sunlight into chemical energy that they store in sugar molecules. Bio-inspired devices performing similar functions could help produce renewable energy. However, scientists don’t yet fully understand the details of the chemical processes involved in photosynthesis. As a consequence, artificial devices can’t yet match the efficiency of naturally occurring photosynthesis. Now, Yulia Pushkar of Purdue University, Indiana, and colleagues have pinned down the steps of a key process in photosynthesis in which water molecules are split into protons, electrons, and oxygen molecules (O₂). Their finding indicates that the chemical bond changes involved in water splitting occur in a different sequence than that predicted by models.