Energy Efficiency Factors Primary quantum yields

Direct Photolysis. Direct photochemical reactions are due to absorption of electromagnetic energy by a pollutant. In this "primary" photochemical process, absorption of a photon promotes a molecule from its ground state to an electronically excited state. The excited molecule then either reacts to yield a photoproduct or decays (via fluorescence, phosphorescence, etc.) to its ground state. The efficiency of each of these energy conversion processes is called its "quantum yield" the law of conservation of energy requires that the primary quantum efficiencies sum to 1.0. Photochemical reactivity is thus composed of two factors the absorption spectrum, and the quantum efficiency for photochemical transformations. 

The choice of new complexes was guided by some simple considerations. The overall eel efficiency of any compound is the product of the photoluminescence quantum yield and the efficiency of excited state formation. This latter parameter is difficult to evaluate. It may be very small depending on many factors. An irreversible decomposition of the primary redox pair can compete with back electron transfer. This back electron transfer could favor the formation of ground state products even if excited state formation is energy sufficient (13,14,38,39). Taking into account these possibilities we selected complexes which show an intense photoluminescence (0 > 0.01) in order to increase the probability for detection of eel. In addition, the choice of suitable complexes was also based on the expectation that reduction and oxidation would occur in an appropriate potential range. 

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