The quantum yield of a photochemical reaction describes the number of molecules undergoing a photochemical event per absorbed photon:
In a chemical photodegradation process, when a molecule dissociates after absorbing a light quantum, the quantum yield is the number of destroyed molecules divided by the number of photons absorbed by the system. Since not all photons are absorbed productively, the typical quantum yield will be less than 1.
Quantum yields greater than 1 are possible for photo-induced or radiation-induced chain reactions, in which a single photon may trigger a long chain of transformations. One example is the reaction of hydrogen with chlorine, in which as many as 10 molecules of hydrogen chloride can be formed per quantum of blue light absorbed.
Quantum yields of photochemical reactions can be highly dependent on the structure, proximity and concentration of the reactive chromophores, the type of solvent environment as well as the wavelength of the incident light. Such effects can be studied with wavelength-tunable lasers and the resulting quantum yield data can help predict conversion and selectivity of photochemical reactions.
In optical spectroscopy, the quantum yield is the probability that a given quantum state is formed from the system initially prepared in some other quantum state. For example, a singlet to triplet transition quantum yield is the fraction of molecules that, after being photoexcited into a singlet state, cross over to the triplet state.