Chapter 9: Heterogeneous Singlet Oxygen Sensitizers

The field of heterogeneous ¹O₂ photosensitization continues to be a very active area after more than forty years of research. The interest in finding useful materials increased since the emergence of the concept of Green Chemistry. Among the main applications pursued are organic synthesis, pollution abatement and bacterial inactivation. A great number of materials have been developed, including particles, monoliths and films. Those characterized by microstructures scatter the incident radiation strongly. New tools need to be developed for their study and a rationale has to be developed for that purpose. This chapter constitutes an effort in that direction.