Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The research described in this proposal is devoted to understanding the energetics of molecules following light excitation as well as elucidation and characterization of the pathways electronically excited molecules access to dissipate the energy and return to their lowest energy state. The excited state chemistry of chromophoric molecules in plants and photosynthetic bacteria drive photosynthesis, a process which is essential to life on earth. The systematic investigation of the properties of molecular excited states that will accrue from our group's and other research groups around the world will yield a knowledge base that will be used to rationally control and predict the excited state properties in molecular systems. Ultimately, this research should teach us how to engineer molecules and their associated excited states to affect important energy transformations where photonic energy is converted to chemical energy such as fuels. As our fossil fuels supplies become more finite, it is critical that energy conversion from others sources such as solar energy be explored and developed. The investigations described in this proposal are directly relevant to photosynthesis and the microscopic chemical processes employed in the photosynthetic apparatus to convert light energy into high energy molecules, for example sugars and ATP. The proposed investigations are designed to create a systematic knowledge base and ultimately the use of this knowledge in the creation of technology to allow the rational engineering of photonic devices for energy conversion.