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Light Absorption and Photochemistry

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The PMO Theory of Organic Chemistry

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Abstract

When a molecule absorbs light, it is converted to one of its excited states. In the orbital approximation such a process is represented by a jump or transition of an electron from one of the orbitals that was originally filled or partly filled to one that was empty or partly empty (Fig. 6.1). The energy required to bring this about is equal, in this approximation, to the difference E 1 - E 2 in energy between the two orbitals. The transition involves absorption of a photon of light of frequency v, given by

$$hv = E_1 - E_2$$

where h is Planck’s constant.

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Selected Reading

The following books deal with organic spectroscopy and photochemistry and are recommended to the reader who wishes to delve further into the subject

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  • R. O. Kay, Organic Photochemistry, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1966.

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  • M. J. Carmier, D. M. Hercules, and J. Lee, eds., Chemiluminescence and Bioluminescence, Plenum Press, New York, 1973.

    Google Scholar 

Numerous reviews will be found in

A detailed discussion of the treatment outlined here will be found in the following articles

General discussions of photochemical reactivity can be found in the following articles

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA

    Michael J. S. Dewar

  2. Department of Chemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA

    Ralph C. Dougherty

Authors
  1. Michael J. S. Dewar
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  2. Ralph C. Dougherty
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© 1975 Plenum Press, New York

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Dewar, M.J.S., Dougherty, R.C. (1975). Light Absorption and Photochemistry. In: The PMO Theory of Organic Chemistry. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-4404-9_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-4404-9_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-4406-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-4404-9

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