Unique in its focus on preparative impact rather than mechanistic details, this handbook provides an overview of photochemical reactions classed according to the structural feature that is built in the photochemical step, so as to facilitate use by synthetic chemists unfamiliar with this topic. An introductory section covers practical questions on how to run a photochemical reaction, while all classes of the most important photocatalytic reactions are also included.

Perfect for organic synthetic chemists in academia and industry.

From its origin over a century ago, organic photochemistry has undergone a transformation from an area of science populated by a few specialized organic and physical chemists to a field that now attracts the interest of members of the broad synthetic organic chemistry community. Along the way, the basic chemical and physical foundations of the science were developed and the full synthetic potential of photochemical reactions of organic substrates has been realized.

The science of organic photochemistry can be traced back to observations made in the nineteenth century, which showed that ultraviolet irradiation of certain organic substances leads to formation of products that have unique and sometimes highly strained structures. An example of this is found in studies in the early 1800s, which demonstrated that irradiation of the naturally occurring, cross conjugated cyclohex adienone, a santonin, in the crystal state induces a deep seated, multistepped rearrangement reaction. It is fair to conclude that at that time observations like this could only have been attributed to the magic of Nature, since little if anything was known about the fundamental principles of the light absorption process and the relationships between structures and decay pathways of electronic excited states.