Photochemistry of organic chromophores incorporated into fatty acid monolayers
The photochemical behavior of several different chromophores incorporated as surfactant molecules in organized monolayer assemblies is reported. For several systems rather pronounced differences are observed between reactivity in solution and in the assemblies. Many of the differences can be ascribed to packing phenomena and to restrictions on diffusion and molecular motion in the condensed assemblies. Among the reactions studied which are subject to strong environmental influences in the assemblies are cis-trans photoisomerization, ligand photoejection, excimer and photodimer formation and electron transfer reactions. Photoreactions occurring at an assembly-solution interface have also been observed including the cleavage of water mediated by a layer-bound excited state of a surfactant ruthenium complex.