An example due to photodissociation is triphenylsulfonium triflate. This colourless salt consists of a sulfonium cation and the triflate anion.  Many related salts are known including those with other noncoordinating anions and those with diverse substituents on the phenyl rings.
The triphenylsulfonium salts absorb at a wavelength of 233 nm, which induces a dissociation of one of the three phenyl rings. This dissociated phenyl radical then re-combines with remaining diphenylsulfonium to liberate an H ion. The second reaction is irreversible, and therefore the entire process is irreversible, so triphenylsulfonium triflate is a photoacid generator. The ultimate products are thus a neutral organic sulfide and the strong acid triflic acid.
:[(CH)S][CFSO]  +  hν   →  [(CH)S][CFSO]  +  CH
:[(CH)S][CFSO]  +  CH   →  (CHCH)(CH)S  +  [[Triflic acid|[CFSO][H]]]
Applications of these photoacids include photolithography and catalysis of the polymerization of epoxides.