Photochemistry Essentials

Written by Professor Scaiano, the Canada Research Chair in Applied Photochemistry at the University of Ottawa, Photochemistry Essentials is a concise introduction aimed at researchers and students who want to learn the essential principles of photochemistry, how to use light as a tool, and how to apply the concepts of photochemistry to their research.

Photochemistry and photophysics are as old as our planet Earth. Photosynthesis in plants and vision in our eyes are natural examples of their importance. This book entitled "Photochemistry and Photophysics - Fundamentals to Applications" presents various advanced topics that inherently utilize core concepts of photochemistry and photophysics. There are eleven chapters in this book, which are divided into four 'parts'. While the first and second parts contain chapters describing the fundamentals of photochemistry and photophysics, respectively, the third part is on computational photochemistry. The last part deals with applications of photochemistry and photophysics. The goal of this book is to familiarize both research scholars and postgraduate students with recent advances in this exciting field.

This text is aimed at final year undergraduates, beginning postgraduates, and those requiring a fundamental knowledge of photophysical and photochemical processes. The first two chapters provide an introduction to the more physical and quantitative aspects of the subject. More advanced topics concerned with the interaction between matter and radiation, molecular photophysics, and emission quenching are considered in the following three chapters. Difficult concepts are presented from a qualitative (pictorial) point of view rather than a purely mathematical one and a quantum rather than a classical approach is adopted throughout. The photochemical reactions of organic compounds are classified according to chromophore type (i.e. ethenes, dienes, and ethynes, carbonyl compounds, aromatic compounds, chromophores containing nitrogen, and other organic chromophores). However, in view of the importance of photo-oxygenation processes, this is considered as a separate topic in the final chapter.

Theoretical and Computational Photochemistry: Fundamentals, Methods, Applications and Synergy with Experimental Approaches provides a comprehensive overview of photoactive systems and photochemical processes. After an introduction to photochemistry, the book discusses the key computational chemistry methods applied to the study of light-induced processes over the past decade, and further outlines recent research topics to which these methods have been applied. By discussing the synergy between experimental and computational data, the book highlights how theoretical studies could facilitate understanding experimental findings. This helpful guide is for both theoretical chemists and experimental photochemistry researchers interested in utilizing computational photochemistry methods for their own work. Reviews the fundamentals of photochemistry, helping those new to the field in understanding key concepts Provides detailed guidance and comparison of computational and theoretical methods, highlighting the suitability of each method for different case studies Outlines current applications to encourage discussion of the synergy between experimental and computational data, and inspiring further application of these methods to other photochemical processes