Author(s)

Marco Sacilotti, Denis Chaumont, Claudia Brainer Mota, Thiago Vasconcelos, Frederico Dias Nunes, Marcelo Francisco Pompelli, Sergio Luiz Morelhao, Anderson S. L. Gomes

Departament of Eletronics and Systems, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
Department of Physics, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
Institute of Physics, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Nanoform Group ICB & UFR Science and Technology, University of Burgundy, Dijon, France.
Plant Physiology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.

To copy natural photosynthesis process we need to understand and explain the physics underneath its first step mechanism, which is “how to separate electrical charges under attraction”. But this Nature’s nanotechnological creation is not yet available to the scientific community. We present a new interpretation for the artificial and natural photosynthetic mechanism, concerning the electrical charges separation and the spent energy to promote the process. Interface (e–, h+) recombination and emission is applied to explain the photosynthetic mechanisms. This interpretation is based on energy bands relative position, the staggered one, which under illumination promotes (e–, h+) charges separation through the action of an interface electric field and energy consumption at the interface of both A/B generic materials. Energy band bending is responsible by the interface electric field (and the driving force) for the charges separation. This electric field can be as high or above that for p-n semiconductor junctions (10⁴ - 10⁵ V/cm). This physical effect is not considered by most of the researches. Without an electric field and without spending energy to separate electrical charges, any other existing model violates physical laws. The staggered energy band type is the only energetic configuration that permits charges separation under illumination and energy loss to perform the process. Application to natural photosynthesis and artificial photovoltaic material and their energetic configurations are discussed. Examples for A/B being III-V/III-V, TiO₂/materials and II-VI/II-VI staggered energy band gap pairs are presented. In the proposed quantum mechanism, plants are able to eliminate most of the 79% of the absorbed visible light, according to the published reflection and transmission data. Moreover, the proposed mechanism can be applied to explain green fluorescent protein - GFP, charge transfer states - CTS and Fluorescent Resonance Energy Transfer - FRET. As recent literature experimental results propose photosynthesis as a quantum controlled mechanism, our proposition goes forward this direction.

Solar Energy; Renewable Energy; Photovoltaic; Photosynthesis; Type II Interfaces; Staggered Interface; Interface Emission; Interface Recombination; Quantum Photosynthesis; Solar Cell; FRET; GFP

M. Sacilotti, D. Chaumont, C. Mota, T. Vasconcelos, F. Nunes, M. Pompelli, S. Morelhao and A. Gomes, "Interface Recombination & Emission Applied to Explain Photosynthetic Mechanisms for (e–, h+) Charges’ Separation," World Journal of Nano Science and Engineering, Vol. 2 No. 2, 2012, pp. 58-87. doi: 10.4236/wjnse.2012.22010.