Artificial light-harvesting antennas absorb light travelling parallel to a magnetic field differently from light travelling anti-parallel to the field, according to Japanese researchers.
This effect – known as magneto-chiral dichroism (MChD) – is proposed to have played a role in the origin of homochirality in life and is important for the development of new magneto-optical devices.
This is only the second example of MChD reported in organic compounds. It indicates that MChD may occur during the light-harvesting process, says the team, which is important not only for learning more about photosynthesis but also for clarifying the origin of asymmetry in biological systems.
Read the communication:
Magneto-chiral dichroism of artificial light-harvesting antenna
Yuichi Kitagawa, Tomohiro Miyatake and Kazuyuki Ishii
Chem. Commun., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2CC30996C
Also of interest:
Nanoscale spectroscopy with optical antennas
Palash Bharadwaj, Ryan Beams and Lukas Novotny, Chem. Sci., 2011, 2, 136-140
Artificial Photosynthesis – a ChemComm web theme
