Scientists augment artificial photosynthesis with more efficient light absorbers 10/31/2013 - 00:00 Scientists from Japan have harvested solar energy using an exceptionally large number of light absorbers to relay photons via antennas into one final energy acceptor. This two-step sequence closely mimics natural photosynthesis, resulting in greater and more efficient energy transfer.Previously, researchers had only used one-step light harvesting systems, greatly limiting the number of absorbers able to feed light into a single reaction centre. Now, by imitating photosynthetic systems,Osamu Ishitani at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Shinji Inagaki at the Japan Science and Technology Agency and their co-workers have efficiently harvested light using the highest number of artificial leaves to date.
