Photochemistry and Electron Transfer Studies

When a molecule absorbs light, it enters an excited state where electrons, protons, and charge can redistribute on timescales of femtoseconds to nanoseconds — and understanding exactly how that redistribution unfolds is the central concern of photochemistry and electron transfer research. Experiments tracking fluorescence quantum yields, solvation dynamics, and hydrogen-bond rearrangements reveal the microscopic rules that govern whether a photoexcited molecule emits light, transfers a proton, or shuttles charge to a neighboring site. These mechanisms are directly relevant to the design of luminescent solar concentrators and organic optoelectronic materials, where controlling excited-state pathways determines device efficiency. Open questions include how the surrounding solvent environment shapes the competition between intramolecular charge transfer and proton transfer, and how molecular structure can be tuned to suppress non-radiative losses in real operating conditions.

Works

84,918

Total citations

1,794,401

Keywords

Excited-State Proton TransferIntramolecular Charge TransferSolvation DynamicsLuminescent Solar ConcentratorsHydrogen BondingFluorescence Quantum Yields