13.9 Supramolecular Control of Photochemical and Photophysical Processes: General Principles

What do we mean by a “supramolecular control” of a photochemical reaction? To answer this question, we will integrate the fundamental and familiar paradigm of molecular organic photochemistry (e.g., the R + hν → ∗R → I → P sequence) with the paradigm of supramolecular organic chemistry (guest@host chemistry). It will be convenient to consider supramolecular control of unimolecular and bimolecular reactions separately. In both cases, the notion of preorganization of the guest(s) by the host will be a critical factor. For unimolecular reactions: