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					</table><p>Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (<a href="https://www.iiserkol.ac.in/web/en/#gsc.tab=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IISER</a>) Kolkata have developed an innovative method that utilizes organic nanotubes to harness artificial light, offering a wide range of applications in solar cells, photocatalysis, optical sensors, and tunable multi-color light-emitting materials.</p>
<p>The concept behind this advancement lies in the intricate energy transfer process observed in plants and photosynthetic bacteria.</p>
<p>In recent years, researchers have sought to replicate and understand these natural systems to develop highly efficient energy conversion and storage technologies.</p>
<p>Supratim Banerjee, in collaboration with Suman Chakrabarty from the S. N. Bose National Center for Basic Sciences (<a href="https://www.bose.res.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SNBNCBS</a>), embarked on experimental and computational investigations focused on artificial light-harvesting using organic nanotubes.</p>
<p><strong>The Methodology </strong></p>
<p>The nanotubes were created through the union of an organic fluorescent molecule and a therapeutically important biopolymer.</p>
<p>The fluorescent molecule, known as cyano stilbenes, exhibits enhanced emission in its aggregated state, while the biopolymer, called heparin, is an anionic substance with crucial therapeutic applications.</p>
<p>In the presence of heparin, the cationic cyano stilbenes self-assembled into nanotubes that emitted a vibrant greenish-yellow light.</p>
<p>This electrostatically driven co-assembly process allowed the nanotubes to act as highly efficient energy donors, akin to the antenna chromophores found in photosynthetic bacteria.</p>
<p>They could donate energy to acceptor dyes like Nile Red and Nile Blue, enabling the tuning of emission colors from greenish yellow to orange-red, even producing white light.</p>
<p>This energy transfer phenomenon, known as Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), has far-reaching implications in various domains, including DNA/RNA structure determination, biological membrane mapping, and real-time PCR tests.</p>
<p>As the world increasingly focuses on converting solar energy into chemical or electrical forms for storage, efficient energy transfer processes play a pivotal role in such applications.</p>
<p>The researchers&#8217; study, published in Chemical Science, the journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, delved into the formation of these nanotubes using absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM).</p>
<p>With the advancement in light-harvesting technology, the potential for more efficient solar cells, enhanced photocatalysis, advanced optical sensors, and customizable multi-color light-emitting materials becomes increasingly tangible.</p>
<p>In March 2023, a  group of researchers at the University of Cambridge successfully <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/photosynthesis-generating-renewable-energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">manipulated</a> the initial steps of photosynthesis and uncovered a novel approach to harnessing its energy.</p>
<p>In January 2023, researchers at the École Polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/researchers-produce-hydrogen-air-using-solar-power" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invented</a> a solar-powered device that is capable of harvesting water from the air for conversion into hydrogen fuel.</p>


IISER Kolkata Pioneers New Light-Harvesting Method with Organic Nanotubes


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					</table><p>Researchers at the <a href="https://www.modares.ac.ir/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tarbiat Modares University</a> in Iran have found that concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) helps in shading management while equally distributing the solar spectrum to balance energy and water levels in crops.</p>
<p>The work published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/applied-energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Applied Energy</a> highlights that the balanced distribution of sunlight using CPV allows photovoltaic systems to generate sufficient amounts of electricity without affecting agricultural production.</p>
<p>They claimed that solar thermal collectors can be used to convert solar energy into heat, while photovoltaics can be used to convert solar radiation directly into electricity. The researchers used CPV and mitigated the issue of shading.</p>
<p>CPV is a clean technology that offers enhanced spectral processing capabilities and comes with highly concentrated power-generating efficiency, making the technology a suitable solution for integrating photosynthesis.</p>
<p>The researchers in the new work observed the working principles of CPV modules and studied their uses in concentrating <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/agrivoltaics-solve-land-scarcity-problem-solar-installations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agrivoltaics</a>.</p>
<p>The researchers used parabolic glass covered with a multilayer dichroic polymer film that reflected near-infrared (NIR) radiation onto the solar cells installed at the focal area, which helped transmit photons in the range of photosynthetically active radiation.</p>
<p>The scientists then used Fresnel lenses, highly transparent sun-tracking louvers that help concentrate direct sunlight onto the solar cells to generate electricity.</p>
<p>While crops or plants do not require the complete solar spectrum to grow, combining photovoltaics to the process maintains the amount of energy and water level required for the growth.</p>
<p>However, the researchers stated that the development and use of CPV technology are slower due to relatability issues, high installation costs, lack of data and field expertise, and crucial inputs on maintenance and operating costs.</p>
<p>The team further claimed that developing photovoltaics for use in agriculture can further eliminate the dependence of farmers on fossil fuels and contribute to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions globally.</p>
<p>In a similar study, material scientists at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/roof-organic-solar-cells-greenhouse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">designed</a> a solar roof with semi-transparent solar cells for a miniature greenhouse prototype. They found that the solar roof helped produce sufficient energy from sunlight to grow plants or crops.</p>
<p>A team of researchers from Cornell University <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/researchers-find-crops-improves-panel-efficiency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> that growing commercial crops on solar farms is an efficient use of agricultural land, which can boost both commercial food production and improve the performance and longevity of solar panels.</p>


Concentrated Photovoltaics Helps Crop Growth And Generate Electricity


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					</table><p>A group of researchers at the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Cambridge</a> successfully manipulated the initial steps of photosynthesis and uncovered a novel approach to harnessing its energy.</p>
<p>As identified by the researchers, the reconfiguration of photosynthesis could enhance its capacity to manage surplus energy and establish novel and more effective techniques for utilizing its potential.</p>
<p>“We didn’t know as much about photosynthesis as we thought we did, and the new electron transfer pathway we found here is completely surprising,” said Jenny Zhang from Cambridge’s Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry.</p>
<p>Zhang and her team initially aimed to comprehend how a circular molecule known as a quinone can &#8220;capture&#8221; electrons from photosynthesis.</p>
<p>Quinones are prevalent in nature and can effortlessly accept and donate electrons.</p>
<p>The outcomes of this study have been published in the scientific journal <em>Nature</em>.</p>
<p>While photosynthesis is an inherent biological process, scientists have been investigating its potential role in mitigating the climate crisis by imitating photosynthetic mechanisms to produce clean fuels from sunlight and water, among other possibilities.</p>
<p>The scientists employed an ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy method to investigate the behavior of quinones in photosynthetic cyanobacteria.</p>
<p>The scientists discovered that the protein framework where the first chemical reactions of photosynthesis transpire is &#8220;porous,&#8221; enabling electrons to flee.</p>
<p>This porosity could help plants safeguard themselves from harm caused by intense or swiftly fluctuating illumination.</p>
<p>“The physics of photosynthesis is seriously impressive,” said co-first author Tomi Baikie, from Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory “Normally, we work on highly ordered materials, but observing charge transport through cells opens up remarkable opportunities for new discoveries on how nature operates.”</p>
<p>“Since the electrons from photosynthesis are dispersed through the whole system, that means we can access them,” said co-first author Laura Wey, based at the University of Turku, Finland.</p>
<p>The scientists contend that the capability to extract charges at an earlier stage in the photosynthesis process could heighten the efficiency of photosynthetic pathways when manipulating them to generate clean energy from sunlight.</p>
<p>Additionally, the capacity to regulate photosynthesis could lead to the creation of crops that are more tolerant of intense light.</p>
<p>Zhang noted that many scientists have attempted to extract electrons from an earlier point in photosynthesis but considered it unattainable due to the energy being deeply embedded in the protein scaffold.</p>
<p>She further added that the fact that they were able to capture electrons in an earlier phase was remarkable. At first, the team was skeptical and thought they had made an error, but they were eventually able to convince themselves that they had succeeded.</p>
<p>The utilization of ultrafast spectroscopy was critical to this discovery since it allowed the team to track the energy flow in live photosynthetic cells on a femtosecond scale – a millionth of a billionth of a second.</p>
<p>In January 2023, researchers at the École Polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/researchers-produce-hydrogen-air-using-solar-power" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invented</a> a solar-powered device that is capable of harvesting water from the air for conversion into hydrogen fuel.</p>
<p>Last September, researchers at the University of Melbourne <a href="https://mercomindia.com/melbourne-university-researchers-build-device-to-generate-hydrogen-from-air/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">developed</a> a way to generate hydrogen directly from the air, eliminating the dependency on freshwater resources.</p>


Photosynthesis ‘Hack’ Could Lead to New Ways of Generating Renewable Energy

photosynthesis

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