Term: charge shift https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.C01000 Definition: A process in which under the influence of a suitable driving force (e.g. provided by photoexcitation) electronic charge moves without changing the difference in local charges between donor and acceptor sites. electron transfer reversing the charges in a system composed of a neutral donor and a cationic acceptor or of a neutral acceptor and an anionic donor provide prominent examples. Related Terms: 1) driving force (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.D01860). 2) electron transfer (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.E02011). 3) photoexcitation (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.P04613). Source: PAC, 1996, 68, 2223. 'Glossary of terms used in photochemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 1996)' on page 2231 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199668122223) Citation: 'charge shift' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.C01000 License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms. Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.