Photochemical reaction

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see main article photochemistry

A photochemical reaction is a chemical reaction which is induced by light. Examples of photochemical organic reactions are electrocyclic reactions, photoisomerization and Norrish reactions.

The basic requirements for photochemical reactions are:

  • the energy of the light source must correspond to an electronic transition between orbitals
  • the emitted light must be able to reach the targeted functional group and not blocked by the reactor, medium or other functional groups present.


Photoexcitation is the first step in a photochemical process where the reactant is elevated to an excited state of higher energy. Photosensitizers absorb radiation and transfer energy to the reactant. The opposite process is called quenching when a photoexited state is deactivated by a chemical reagent.

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