Supramolecular energy transfer from photoexcited chlorosomal zinc porphyrin self-aggregates to a chlorin or bacteriochlorin monomer as models of main light-harvesting antenna systems in green photosynthetic bacteria.

Self-aggregates of a synthetic zinc porphyrin worked as a light absorber and photoexcited energy donor, transferred the collected energy to a small amount of 3-acetyl-(bacterio)chlorin monomer, and induced near-infrared fluorescence from the acceptors in aqueous micellar solution. These artificial supramolecular systems are novel models of the main light-harvesting antennas of green photosynthetic bacteria, chlorosomes.