Artificial Photosynthesis Breakthrough: German-Korean Team Mimics Nature for Clean Energy

A German-Korean research team has achieved a significant milestone in artificial photosynthesis, replicating an early stage of the natural process. Led by Professor Frank Wurthner at Julius-Maximilians-Universitat (JMU) Wurzburg in Bavaria, Germany, and in collaboration with Professor Dongho Kim's lab at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea, the team's work, published in *Nature Chemistry*, demonstrates a novel approach to harnessing solar energy. The researchers engineered a dye assembly mimicking plant cell light-harvesting complexes. This synthetic structure captures light, separates charges, and efficiently transfers electrons through a stack of four perylene bisimide dye molecules. "We can specifically trigger the charge transport in this structure with light and have analysed it in detail. It is efficient and fast. This is an important step towards the development of artificial photosynthesis," explained JMU PhD student Leander Ernst. The breakthrough could pave the way for converting atmospheric carbon dioxide into valuable compounds and producing hydrogen fuel through water splitting. The team plans to expand their nanoscale stack to create a supramolecular wire, enhancing sunlight absorption and energy channeling for advanced photofunctional materials.