Molecular Photochemistry

Course manual 2022/2023

Course content

The use of light as a source of energy or information in chemical research and applications is gaining importance. In this course we recall the basics of the interaction of molecules with light, and we study what can happen with molecules in electronically excited states. The primary processes are physical in nature (emission of light, conversion of the photon energy to heat, energy transfer), others give rise to new chemical structures, which may be a stable end product, or a catalyst for a chemical reaction, or another metastable species. Important applications of photochemistry will be discussed, such as molecular probes, photoswitches, solar energy conversion, photomedicine, photocatalysis, organic synthesis, and others

Study materials

Literature

• Photochemistry and Photophysics : Concepts, Research, Applications by Vincenzo Balzani, Paola Ceroni, and Alberto Juris, John Wiley & Sons, 2014. An on-line version is available for students when connected with the UvA network (VPN).

Objectives

• The student can describe the physical and chemical processes that molecules undergo when excited into electronically excited states: fluorescence, internal conversion, inter system crossing, reactions, e.g. isomerization and bond breaking, and electron and energy transfer processes
• The student can explain how the result of a photoexcitation event depends on the competition between the different processes that can occur in the excited state and their characteristic time scales
• The student can explain the principles of important experimental techniques in photochemistry: steady-state and time-resolved absorption and photoluminescence
• The student is able to recognize the basic principles of excited state chemistry and spectroscopy in research papers, and to critically evaluate the literature.
• The student can use the gained knowledge in photochemistry to applications in chemistry, physics and biology.

Teaching methods

• Lecture
• Self-study
• Graded assignments
• Presentation/symposium
• Working independently on e.g. a project or thesis

Learning activities

Attendance

This programme does not have requirements concerning attendance (TER part B).

Assessment

Inspection of assessed work

The assignments and peer reviews will be graded in Canvas.

Assignments

All assignments are individual and graded. Feedback in Canvas.

Please prepare your answers to the assignments using computer programs such as Word or Latex and ChemDraw and hand in a pdf file. We cannot accept hand-written answers.

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Timetable

The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.

Contact information

Coordinator

• prof. dr. A.M. Brouwer

Staff

• dr. R.M. Williams
• prof. dr. A.M. Brouwer