Term: photoreduction https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.P04650 Definition: Reduction reactions induced by light. Common processes are: 1, addition of one or more electrons to a photoexcited species; 2, the photochemical hydrogenation of a substance. Reactions in which the substrate is not electronically excited are sometimes called photoinitiated reductions. Related Terms: 1) photooxidation (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.P04640). Source: PAC, 1996, 68, 2223. 'Glossary of terms used in photochemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 1996)' on page 2264 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199668122223) Citation: 'photoreduction' 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.P04650 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.