Pure Appl. Chem., 2006, Vol. 78, No. 12, pp. 2193-2203
doi:10.1351/pac200678122193
Five decades of mechanistic and exploratory organic photochemistry*
Howard E. Zimmerman
Chemistry Department, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Abstract:
This exposition summarizes a personal perspective on past and current developments in organic photochemistry. It comprises three portions. The first section describes the beginnings of our photochemical studies and how it was possible to relate photochemical reactivity to excited-state electronic structures. The second selectively relates some of the reactions and concepts developed in the intermediate years. Finally, the third portion describes our recent research.
Keywords: mechanistic; organic; photochemistry; Porter Medal.
*Paper based on the acceptance lecture for a 2006 Porter Medal, presented at the XXIst Symposium on Photochemistry, 2-7 April 2006, Kyoto, Japan. Other presentations are published in this issue, pp. 2193-2359.
All articles from the XXIst Symposium on Photochemistry, Kyoto, Japan, 2–7 April 2006.