Acetophenone, acid-catalyzed electron transfer

The ke[ values of photoinduced electron transfer reactions from [Ru(bpy)3]2 + to various nitrobenzene derivatives in the presence of 2.0 mol dm-3 HC104 are listed in Table 1, where the substituent effect is rather small irrespective of electron-withdrawing or donating substituents. A similar insensitivity to the substituent effect is also observed in the acid-catalyzed photoinduced electron transfer from [Ru(bpy)3]2+ to acetophenone derivatives [46,47]. The stronger the electron acceptor ability is, the weaker is the protonation ability, and vice versa. Thus, the reactivity of substrates in the acid-catalyzed electron transfer may be determined by two reverse effects, i.e., the proton and electron acceptor abilities, and they are largely canceled out. Such an insensitive substituent effect shows a sharp contrast with the substituent effect on the acid-catalyzed hydride transfer reactions from Et3SiH to carbonyl compounds, in which the reactivity of substrates is determined mainly by the protonation ability rather than the electron acceptor ability. 

Figure 4A. Dependence of kcl on [HC104] for the acid-catalyzed photoinduced electron transfer from [Ru(bpy)3]2 + to acetophenone in the presence of HC104 in MeCN at 298 K [40].

---