Abstract
SPECIES of chlorophyll a absorbing in the red at 673–5, 682–5 and in the range 697–715 nm occur in photosynthetic organisms1. Colloidal dispersions, monolayers spread on water, and various crystalline preparations of chlorophyll are also known to absorb light at wavelengths longer than does monomeric chlorophyll2. The red-shift of chlorophyll in the plant has been explained in terms of an exciton theory3 and is generally considered the result of aggregation or crystallization of the chlorophyll. A large red-shift is taken almost automatically to indicate a high degree of crystallinity4. We have now prepared chlorophyll a solutions and films which absorb in the red at 672–5, 682–5, 710–20 and 740 nm, and have been able to deduce structures for these long wavelength forms of chlorophyll from the infrared spectra.
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BALLSCHMITER, K., KATZ, J. Long Wavelength Forms of Chlorophyll. Nature 220, 1231–1233 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/2201231a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2201231a0
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