Supramolecular Photochemistry

Supramolecular Photochemistry—Controlling Photochemical Processes by V. Ramamurthy and Yoshihisa Inoue aims to give the reader an overview of where supramolecular photochemistry is and where it is going.

Supramolecular Photochemistry—Controlling Photochemical Processes is reviewed by Alberto Credi, Università di Bologna, Italy, in Angewandte Chemie.

Credi thinks that as the topic has advanced exponentially since the publication of two landmark monographs in the field, the release of this new book will be appreciated, even considering that over the years several excellent volumes have been published by CRC Press in the series “Molecular and Supramolecular Photochemistry”. This volume provides a fresh and variegated picture of photochemistry applied to supramolecular systems, with contributions from renowned experts on several specific aspects of the field.

Credi thinks that the presentation is excellent for all chapters, which are also well provided with literature references. The volume has a satisfactory index and contains a large number of lovely illustrations; unfortunately they are in black and white in the print version, but some of them are available in color on the publisher’s FTP site.

His main criticism of the volume is that it has a marked bias towards solid-state photoreactivity: half of the chapters deal with photochemistry in crystals, nanostructured solids, or polymers. The consequence is that some relevant subjects are scarcely represented, or are not covered at all. Among these hot topics are, for example, assemblies based on photoactive nanoparticles, lightsensitive supramolecular devices and machines, and self-assembled photoresponsive systems on surfaces.

In conclusion to Credi, Supramolecular Photochemistry—Controlling Photochemical Processes is a valuable reference book not only for experienced researchers but also for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who are interested in exploring photochemistry at its frontiers with supramolecular chemistry, materials science, and biochemistry. However, this is not an introductory text, and therefore it will be read much more profitably and enjoyably by those with some background in photophysics and photochemistry.

He recommends it to all reseachers in the filed and thinks that the book is good value for money.

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