Australian National University
Monday, 12 November 2012

The researchers used computer modelling to reveal the molecular structure of the photosynthesis reaction site in plants, which is where sunlight converts water into hydrogen and oxygen.

Image: Bhaskar Pyakurel/Flickr

The prospect of creating clean, renewable hydrogen fuel is closer than ever after a breakthrough in our understanding of photosynthesis.

Professors Rob Stranger and Ron Pace from the Research School of Chemistry in the ANU College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences used computer modelling to reveal the molecular structure of the photosynthesis reaction site in plants. This is where sunlight is used to convert water into its components – hydrogen and oxygen.

For the first time, they have identified the specific water molecules in a plant’s photosystem that are converted into oxygen. [… Read More]