Photochemistry of various acene based molecules

Photochemistry based on acenes and their derivatives is one of the emerging research areas in the field of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, due to the increased reactivity of larger acenes towards light and singlet oxygen, it is difficult to precisely control their photochemical reactions. Therefore, the unexpected reactivity of acene-based molecules brings about two challenging topics: how to design stable acenes and how to utilize the photochemistry to design new acene-based functional materials. In this review, we first focus on the mechanism of photochemistry of acenes to theoretically understand how these reactions could have happened. Next, we will give a summary on both acene-based photocyclization and photooxidation reactions.