Unravelling the bioenergetics of photosynthesis at multiple length and time scales

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Photosynthesis is the dominant route by which solar energy enters the biosphere, and is our primary source of food and energy. This important process is composed of several combinations of photon-absorption, light-to-charge conversion, charge transfer and bond transformation steps, each can take from pico-seconds to hours to occur. Facilitating this are a myriad of nano-machineries that work dynamically in concert or in cascades to harvest and convert sunlight into the bonds of biomass. It has recently become possible to electrochemically connect photosynthetic machineries, entire electron transport chains and even communities of living cells, electrochemically to electrodes. Such (re-)wiring of photosynthesis at different length scales (from nano-machineries to micron-sized cells) to electrodes is allowing us to study, control and exploit photosynthesis in exciting and unprecedented ways. This project aims to develop new methods of understanding the bioenergetics of photosynthesis so that we can more effectively enhance it for bespoke purposes. This involves the development of novel spectro-electrochemistry and imaging techniques for probing the bioenergetics of photosynthesis at a wide range of length and time scales (from nm-micro m and ps-days). Achieving this will fill long-standing technological gaps, enable photosynthesis to be understood wholistically, and accelerate the progress of technologies that rely on photosynthesis.