Long afterglow particle enables spectral and temporal light management to boost photosynthetic efficiency

Zhenzhen Dong; Jinbo Fei; Tonghui Wang; Junbai Li

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.01.084

Long afterglow particle enables spectral and temporal light management to boost photosynthetic efficiency

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 May 15:638:76-83. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.01.084. Epub 2023 Jan 20.

Authors

Zhenzhen Dong¹, Jinbo Fei², Tonghui Wang¹, Junbai Li³

Affiliations

¹ Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), CAS Key Lab of Colloid, Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
² Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), CAS Key Lab of Colloid, Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: feijb@iccas.ac.cn.
³ Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), CAS Key Lab of Colloid, Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: jbli@iccas.ac.cn.

PMID: 36736120
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.01.084

Abstract

Herein, we develop a strategy of matched spectral and temporal light management to improve photosynthetic efficiency by co-assembling natural thylakoid membrane (TM) with artificial long afterglow particle (LAP). To be specific, LAP with excellent stability and biocompatibility possesses the capabilities of light conversion and storage, optically-matched with the absorption of TM. These favorable features permit LAP as an additional well-functioned light source of photosynthesis performed by TM. As a consequence, enhanced photosynthesis is achieved after co-assembly, compared with pure TM. Under light, the rates of electron transfer, oxygen yield and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production in this biohybrid architecture are boosted owing to down-conversion fluorescence emission from LAP. Under dark, persistent phosphorescence emission in charged LAP facilitates continual photosynthesis of TM, while that of pure TM almost stops immediately. This proof-of-concept work opens a new route to augment the photosynthetic efficiency of green plants by utilizing precise light-managed materials.

Keywords: Architecture; Energy conversion; Light management; Photosynthesis; Supramolecular assembly.

MeSH terms

Electron Transport
Fluorescence
Photosynthesis*
Thylakoids* / metabolism