Cited by 669Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical StudiesQuantum Mechanics and ApplicationsPhotochemistry and Electron Transfer Studies

Using coherence to enhance function in chemical and biophysical systems

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Scholes, Gregory D., Fleming, Graham R., Chen, Lin X., Aspuru-Guzik, Alán, Buchleitner, Andreas, Coker, David F., Engel, Gregory S., van Grondelle, Rienk +11 more·2017·Nature

Abstract

Coherence phenomena arise from interference, or the addition, of wave-like amplitudes with fixed phase differences. Although coherence has been shown to yield transformative ways for improving function, advances have been confined to pristine matter and coherence was considered fragile. However, recent evidence of coherence in chemical and biological systems suggests that the phenomena are robust and can survive in the face of disorder and noise. Here we survey the state of recent discoveries, present viewpoints that suggest that coherence can be used in complex chemical systems, and discuss the role of coherence as a design element in realizing function.

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Crossref · 10.1038/nature21425

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110 of 110 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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Authors
Scholes, G. D., Fleming, G. R., Chen, L. X., Aspuru-Guzik, A., Buchleitner, A., Coker, D. F., Engel, G. S., van Grondelle, R., Ishizaki, A., Jonas, D. M., Lundeen, J. S., McCusker, J. K., Mukamel, S., Ogilvie, J. P., Olaya-Castro, A., Ratner, M. A., Spano, F. C., Whaley, K. B., & Zhu, X.
Affiliations
  • Princeton University (US)
  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (US)
  • Northwestern University (US)
  • University of Freiburg (DE)
  • Boston University (US)
  • University of Chicago (US)
  • National Institutes of Natural Sciences (JP)
  • University of Colorado Boulder (US)
  • University of Ottawa (CA)
  • Michigan State University (US)
  • University of California, Irvine (US)
  • University of Michigan (US)
  • University College London (GB)
  • Temple University (US)
  • Columbia University (US)
Corresponding author
  • Scholes, Gregory D.
  • Fleming, Graham R.
Venue
Nature
Published
2017-03
Volume
543
Issue
7647
Pages
647-656
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2604003743
Cited by
668
References
110
Citations by year
2026: 47 · 2025: 69 · 2024: 61 · 2023: 57 · 2022: 72 · 2021: 72 · 2020: 77 · 2019: 72 · 2018: 99 · 2017: 38 · 2014: 1
FWCI
5.34
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • VU Research Portal (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
  • Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Energy
  • Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (25708003)
  • Basic Energy Sciences
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Quantum Mechanics and Applications
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Physical and Theoretical Chemistry › Photochemistry and Electron Transfer Studies
Keywords
coherence, quantum coherence, energy transfer, chemical systems, biological systems, wave interference, biophysics
MeSH terms
Biophysics, Electrons, Energy Transfer, Metals, Models, Biological, Models, Chemical, Models, Molecular, Motion, Quantum Theory, Spectrum Analysis, Time Factors, Vibration

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