Term: photooxidation https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.P04640 Definition: oxidation reactions induced by light. Common processes are: 1, the loss of one or more electrons from a chemical species as a result of photoexcitation of that species; 2, the reaction of a substance with oxygen under the influence of light. When oxygen remains in the product this latter process is also called photooxygenation. Reactions in which neither the substrate nor the oxygen are electronically excited are sometimes called photoinitiated oxidations. Related Terms: 1) photoreduction (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.P04650). 2) oxidation (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.O04362). 3) photoexcitation (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.P04613). 4) photooxygenation (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.P04641). Source: PAC, 1996, 68, 2223. 'Glossary of terms used in photochemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 1996)' on page 2264 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199668122223) Citation: 'photooxidation' 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.P04640 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.