This review article refers to the discovery of excited molecular oxygen, in particular on its lower singlet excited state (¹Δ_g, ¹O₂). After a short report on singlet oxygen generation, the review is focused on the chemistry of this reactive species. Specifically, the three major reactions of ¹O₂ with unsaturated organic substrates, namely the [4 + 2] and [2 +2] cycloadditions as well as the ene reaction, are reviewed. The proposed mechanisms of these reactions, through the years, based on experimental and computational work, have been presented. Selected examples of singlet oxygen-synthetic applications are also mentioned. The [60]fullerene and fullereno-materials photosensitized oxidations in homogeneous, as well as in heterogeneous conditions, are also comprehensively discussed. Finally, the self-sensitized photooxidation of open cage fullerenes as well as fullerenes bearing oxidizable groups is reported.

中文翻译：

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单线态氧：发现、化学、C60 敏化†

这篇评论文章提到了激发态分子氧的发现，特别是在其较低的单线激发态 ( ¹ Δ _g , ¹ O ₂ )。在关于单线态氧生成的简短报告之后，评论的重点是这种活性物质的化学。具体来说，¹ O ₂的三个主要反应综述了与不饱和有机底物，即 [4 + 2] 和 [2 +2] 环加成以及烯反应。多年来，基于实验和计算工作，提出了这些反应的机制。还提到了单线态氧合成应用的选定示例。还全面讨论了在均相和非均相条件下的 [60] 富勒烯和富勒烯材料光敏氧化。最后，报道了开笼富勒烯以及带有可氧化基团的富勒烯的自敏光氧化。