Solvatochromism

This book provides a summary of the current knowledge about the effect of the environment on molecular electronic spectra - "environment" being taken in the broadest sense, to cover gaseous and condensed phase matter as well as organised molecular assemblies and biological specimens. Although solvatochromism has now been a very active area of research for many years, this is the first and only book to have been published which is devoted entirely to the subject, and it succeeds in providing a comprehensive overview of the field, with a selection of references for more detailed information. The main part of the book is concerned with experimental observations, whilst the theoretical section concentrates on the simplest electrostatic methods. The effects of the medium on the energies and intensities of electronic transitions are related to the solvation energies of the various electronic states of the solute molecules, providing important information about the nature and properties of their surroundings. Solvatochromism will be of interest not only to the specialist researcher in this field, but also to scientists and medical practitioners, for example, who take a more empirical approach to the environmental effects on adsorption and luminescence spectra.