Artificial light-harvesting systems and their applications in photocatalysis and cell labeling

Photosynthesis is the basis for the survival of organisms in nature; consequently, the fabrication of artificial light-harvesting systems (LHSs) that simulate natural photosynthesis is of significant interest. Recently, a variety of artificial LHSs have been successfully constructed using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). However, it is crucial to fabricate artificial LHSs with a sequential energy transfer process when considering that the natural photosynthetic process involves a multistep sequential energy transfer process rather than a simple one-step energy transfer. Moreover, many previously reported LHSs have been used as imaging agents for cell labeling and bioimaging or as catalysts in photocatalytic reactions, showing promise for applications simulating natural photosynthesis. In this review, we have summarized recently published representative work on artificial LHSs. In addition, the application of LHSs in photocatalysis and cell labeling has been described in detail.