Summary
In addition to their universal occurrence in photosynthetic organisms, carotenoid pigments are important components of biomimetic photosynthetic constructs. Much of the photophysics and photochemistry including singlet energy transfer, triplet energy transfer, sequential electron transfer, radical pair recombination, spin states and spin dynamics observed in natural photosynthetic reaction centers and antennas can be mimicked by these constructs. In addition to playing a role in biomimetic energy and electron transfer processes, carotenoid pigments are essential components of artificial photosynthetic membranes where they participate in a redox-loop-based light-driven proton pump.