Chlorophyll b Chlorophyll b Chlorophyll "b" is a form of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll "b" helps in photosynthesis by absorbing light energy. It is more soluble than chlorophyll "a" in polar solvents because of its carbonyl group. Its color is green, and it primarily absorbs blue light. In land plants, the light-harvesting antennae around photosystem II contain the majority of chlorophyll "b". Hence, in shade-adapted chloroplasts, which have an increased ratio of photosystem II to photosystem I, there is a higher ratio of chlorophyll "b" to chlorophyll "a". This is adaptive, as increasing chlorophyll "b" increases the range of wavelengths absorbed by the shade
Light-harvesting complex optimize these rates. Chlorophylls and carotenoids are important in light-harvesting complexes present in plants. Chlorophyll b is almost identical to chlorophyll a except it has a formyl group in place of a methyl group. This small difference makes chlorophyll b absorb light with wavelengths between 400 and 500 nm more efficiently. Carotenoids are long linear organic molecules that have alternating single and double bonds along their length. Such molecules are called polyenes. Two examples of carotenoids are lycopene and β-carotene. These molecules also absorb light most efficiently in the 400 – 500 nm range. Due to their absorption region, carotenoids