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A Review Of Quantum Coherence And Its Effect On Photosynthetic Efficiency In Psii And Fmo Complexes, Matthew Nelson

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

Photosynthesis in living organisms is one of the most efficient, natural energy harvesting processes on Earth. The absorption of light energy as photons directly energizes electrons in metabolite molecules. These molecules transfer their high energy electrons through a chain system to provide the energy needed for carbon dioxide metabolism. Recently, it has been a subject of debate how this energy transfer via electron transport achieved such high efficiency. One hypothesis is that this transfer system displays fundamentally quantum mechanical behaviors, such as coherence. Here, I will briefly define this concept in quantum mechanics, and explain the role it might play …