Surface Conductivity of Chlorophyll-a in Various Ambient Gases

A surface of chlorophyll-a is deposited in the interelectrode space of an interdigital comb-shapedelectrode system. The conduction current under direct voltage and dielectric losses under a low frequency alternating voltage were then measured. The conductance values appeared to agree with and depend upon the light intensity on the specimen surface and upon ambient gas nature in which the specimen was placed. Our study has lead us to a belief in the existence of an interaction between the adsorbed gas molecules and certain active sites in the chlorophyll-a molecule (metallic atom, conjugated carbonyl groups).