This Raman spectroscopic study on selenium incorporated in Nd-Yzeolite presents new aspects of thephotochemistry of selenium. The formation of theSe
2- radical anion has been established fromits resonance Ramanspectrum, consisting of ten almost equidistant bands between 328 and3220 cm
-1 on the low-energy side ofthe476.24-nm laser excitation line. The derived spectroscopicconstants of the electronic ground state are
0 =328cm
-1 and
x00 = 0.71cm
-1. Another broad band at 260cm
-1 resembles features in the Raman spectraof amorphousselenium and selenium chain structures encapsulated in zeolites.Continuous irradiation at sufficiently high laserpower levels leads to depletion of the 260cm
-1 band and a simultaneous enhancement ofthe Se
2- bands. Theseobservations are discussed with respect to the defect statesconventionally invoked for reversible photoinduced changesin amorphous selenium.