Chemistry International
Vol. 24, No. 5
September 2002
IUPAC Projects
Chemical
Actinometry
The project
intends to update a document published in Pure and Applied Chemistry
61, 187-210 (1989) on Chemical Actinometry. The purpose is to
extend the coverage to the solid state, expand the gas phase systems
and cover in more detail the near-UV radiation region, in view of the
renewed interest on research in this area, due to environmental reasons.
Thus, the updated document should provide a complete collection of chemical
actinometers, i.e., of appropriate substances for the absolute measurement
of the number of photons in a light beam exciting a sample. These measurements
are required for the quantitative determination of efficiencies of photoinduced
reactions. A list of recommended procedures for the most commonly used
actinometers is also provided, as well as a critical discussion regarding
the pros and cons of the use of chemical actinometers vs. electronic
devices. Actinometers are also included for the use in biological media.
The document
should be ready this summer for discussion at the IUPAC Subcommittee
on Photochemistry which will meet in Budapest at the end of July on
the occasion of the IUPAC Symposium on Photochemistry. A preliminary
version of the document will be published in the Web sites of the three
multinational photochemical associations, i.e., the Inter-American Photochemical
Society (I-APS), the European Photochemical Society (EPS), and the Asia
Photochemical Society (APS). Comments are welcome to this preliminary
version.
Silvia
E. Braslavsky <[email protected]>
www.iupac.org/projects/2002/2002-008-1-300.html