Coordination complexes and organometallic compounds are also photoreactive. These reactions can entail cis-trans isomerization. More commonly, photoreactions result in dissociation of ligands, since the photon excites an electron on the metal to an orbital that is antibonding with respect to the ligands. Thus, metal carbonyls that resist thermal substitution undergo decarbonylation upon irradiation with UV light. UV-irradiation of a THF solution of molybdenum hexacarbonyl gives the THF complex, which is synthetically useful:
:Mo(CO) + THF → Mo(CO)(THF) + CO
In a related reaction, photolysis of iron pentacarbonyl affords diiron nonacarbonyl (see figure):
:2 Fe(CO) → Fe(CO) + CO
Select photoreactive coordination complexes can undergo oxidation-reduction processes via single electron transfer. This electron transfer can occur within the inner or outer coordination sphere of the metal.