orphotochemically

Orphotochemically is an adverb that describes a process or phenomenon that occurs due to light interacting with a molecule or substance in a way that is both photochemical and photophysical. Photochemical processes involve the absorption of light energy that leads to a chemical change, such as the breaking or formation of chemical bonds. Photophysical processes, on the other hand, relate to the energy states of molecules after absorbing light, including excitation, relaxation, and emission of light.

When something occurs orphotochemically, it means that the light absorption has initiated a series of events that include both these chemical transformations and the associated energy transitions within the molecules. This term is often used in fields like chemistry, photobiology, and materials science to describe complex light-driven reactions where both bond rearrangements and excited-state dynamics are significant. For instance, a molecule that undergoes an orphotochemical reaction might first absorb a photon, then enter an excited state (photophysical), and subsequently undergo a chemical transformation before returning to its ground state. The precise mechanism and the interplay between the photophysical and photochemical steps are key aspects of orphotochemical behavior.