There
is considerable interest in the photophysics and photochemistry of water-soluble
macromolecules functionalized as pendant or copolymerized on the macromolecular
backbone itself. A promising feature of functionalized macromolecules is that a
large variety of chemical modifications based on molecular design is possible
as compared to conventional organized assemblies such as micelles and vesicles.
Photoactive macromolecules have important applications in photoresists, xerography,
photocuring of paints and resins, and solar energy conversion systems. These
macromolecular systems are broadly classified into two categories: (1) in which
chromophores are directly attached to the backbone of the macromolecule as a
pendant and (2) in which the macromolecule acts as a host to the
photosensitizing molecules. Various aspects of photochemical and photophysical
processes in polymers are discussed earlier in detail. Time resolved
fluorescence techniques have been extensively used to study the dynamics of
natural and synthetic macromolecules. This book chapter covers
the investigations on the dynamics polymers in solution
using a variety of time resolved techniques ranging from a few femtoseconds to several
seconds.
Keywords: Dynamics, Macromolecule, Photochemistry, Time Resolved, Timescale of motion.
