Towards Artificial Photosynthetic Assemblies Inspired by Photosynthetic Bacteria

Abstract

The photosynthetic assemblies in bacteria, as critical structures in early evolutionary photosynthesis, are pivotal for understanding the molecular mechanisms of photosynthesis and for the design of artificial photosynthetic systems. In recent decades, various artificial systems based on synthetic molecules have been developed to mimic these photosynthetic assemblies from structures to functions. This review summarizes the latest advancements in mimicking the photosynthetic assembly systems, discussing three fundamental models: the chlorosome and related complexes in green bacteria, the chromatophore and reaction center system in purple bacteria, and the phycobilisome and photosystem II (PSII) in cyanobacteria, along with their representative mimicking systems. We also address the challenges and unexplored areas in the simulation of photosynthetic systems.