Methods for the analysis of transient absorbance data

Procedures for the generation and collection of transient UV-visible absorbance data are briefly reviewed. Problems associated with signal generation (scattered light, inhomogeneous distribution of transients, instability of pulsed light sources), signal detection (averaging, filtering), and signal analysis in kinetic and spectrographic flash photolysis are addressed. Methodology for the fitting of model functions to absorbance data that depend on up to three variables (time, wavelength and, e.g., temperature) is discussed.