Photophysical and photochemical processes in 3D self-assembled gels as confined microenvironments

Numerous challenging transformations take place in nature with high efficiency within confined and compartmented environments. This has inspired scientists to develop spatially micro- and nanoreactors by 'bottom-up' approaches in order to improve different processes in comparison to solution, in terms of kinetics, selectivity or processability. In this respect, investigation of photophysical and photochemical processes in soft gel materials has recently emerged as a new and promising research field oriented towards expanding their applications in important areas such as photovoltaics, photocatalysis and phototherapy. Herein, we summarize the few examples dealing with intragel photo-induced physical and chemical processes involving embedded reactants that do not participate in the assembly of the gel network.