Research Projects
1. Artificial Models for Photosynthesis
- It had been believed that all the photosynthetic antennae were built up by special interaction of pigments with proteins. Recently we revealed that bacteriochlorophyll(=BChl)s-c/d self-aggregate to make a main part of light-harvesting antennae in photosynthetic green bacteria without any assistance of proteins. Now, we synthesize several model compounds for BChls-c/d, which are stable, easily available and can be modified by simple procedures. The in-vitro self-assemblies of synthetic pigments are good structural and functional models for the in-vivo antennae. Moreover, we are trying to combine the artificial supramolecular antenna system with a electron-donor/acceptor (as a model for photosynthetic reaction centers), which leads to preparation of artificial photosynthesis.
2. Photoinduced electron transfer
- Electron transfer between photoinduced pigment and electron donor/acceptor is investigated by use of various techniques including organic synthesis and spectroscopic analysis.
3. Preparation of other novel systems
- a) Synthesis of tetrapyrroles
b) Chiral sensors
c) Solar battery