Molecules as Photochemically Activated Devices

Dear Colleagues,

The last couple of decades have seen an increasing amount of R&D on molecules that undergo potentially useful phenomena under the effect of light, namely: the rotation of certain functional groups, ring opening/ring closure processes, release of protons, electrons, ions, and so on. Particularly special attention has been payed to the control and reversibility of these phenomena, so that their reactions could be reversed upon either cutting the light excitation or using a different wavelength. In this way, such molecules might be used as devices for the chemical control of certain processes under the external stimulus of light. This field of research, the same as many others in photochemistry, was foreseen by the genius of Ciamician as early as more than a century ago (“The photochemistry of the future”, G. Ciamician, Science 1912, 36 (926), 385–394, DOI: 10.1126/science.36.926.385). The field has reached what is, no doubt, one of its heights, with the award of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2016 (https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2016/press-release/). Finally, photochemically-driven processes are already one of the bases of a full branch of nanotechnology.

In view of all of the above-described, this Special Issue aims to compile a set of papers that cover the wide spectrum of light-driven processes are nowadays being studied, in order to reflect the incredible variety of applications in which they may be involved, and to serve as inspiration for other applications that we cannot even imagine right now.

All scientists in the field are cordially encouraged to submit their manuscripts for consideration for publication in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Moisés Canle
Dr. María Isabel Fernández Pérez
Guest Editor

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• photochemistry
• molecular devices
• molecular machines
• nanotechnology