Abstract
Among various photofunctions exhibited by polymeric systems, photocatalysis, photovoltaic effects, and photoresponsiveness have attracted much attention in recent years. The present article reviews the recent research efforts directed to the better understanding of the photophysical and photochemical processes which underlie these photofunctions. The photofunctions are most efficiently brought about when thermal deactivation of excitation energy is prevented during the photophysical and photochemical processes. The degree of success in achieving desired photofunctions depends on whether the intrinsic nature of polymeric systems, e. g. amorphousness, is advantageous or disadvantageous for particular photofunctions. It is nevertheless emphasized that the continuing efforts of designing polymeric systems with increased sophistication may eventually overcome some of the difficulties now confronting us in using polymeric systems for particular photofunctions.
