Chlorophyll in Leaves

Chlorophyll-a is the most important photosensitive pigment for the photosynthesis process. It resides in the membranes of thylakoid disks of the chloroplasts. It is assisted by accessory pigments in the antenna arrays that absorb the light and direct the energy to chlorophyll-a pigment complexes. The accessory pigments broaden the wavelength range of the light absorption, but it is chlorophyll-a that accomplishes the final step of handing off energetic electrons in two photosystems called Photosystem I and Photosystem II. These energetic electrons accomplish the step of photophosphorylation to produce the vital energy currency, ATP, but in the non-cyclic electron transport which uses both photosystems, they also provide the energy for the synthesis of glucose and other carbohydrates.