Aromatic photochemical reactions

Institut de Chimie Moleculaire de Reims, UMR 6229 CNRS et Universite de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, UFR Sciences, Reims, France 

In contrast to most of the ground state reactions, photochemical reactions often don t need activation reagents such as acids, bases, metals, or enzymes. In this context, the photon is considered as a traceless reagent [6, 7]. In this way, waste and side product formation is reduced. Photochemical reactions are thus an important part of sustainable chemistry methodology [8]. 

A lot of photochemical reactions of aromatic compounds have been described in the literature. In this context, photocycloadditions are typical examples [6, 9]. In such reactions involving nn excitation of the chromophore, the aromatic character is not reestablished in the final products as is typical for ground state reactions. Very efficient methods based on this reactivity have been developed for the construction of polycyclic compounds. Thus, molecular complexity is generated from simple and easily available starting compounds in only one step. For these reasons, photochemical 

Arene Chemistry Reaction Mechanisms and Methods for Aromatic Compounds, First Edition. Edited by Jacques Mortier. 

Nevertheless, an increasing number of photochemical reactions of aromatic substrates exist in which the aromaticity in the products is built up again. These reactions are interesting for application to the preparation of various biologically active compounds. They are also considered systematically to be applied to the synthesis of organic materials where aromatic moieties are of particular interest. 

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We will show here the classification procedure with a specific dataset [28]. A reaction center, the addition of a C-H bond to a C=C double bond, was chosen that comprised a variety of different reaction types such as Michael additions, Friedel-Crafts alkylation of aromatic compounds by alkenes, or photochemical reactions. We wanted to see whether these different reaction types can be discerned by this... 

Benzo[b]furan, 2-aryl-2,3-dihydro- H NMR, 4, 570 Benzo[b]furan, 2-bromo-nitration, 4, 604 Benzo[b]furan, 5-cinnamoyl-properties, 4, 708 Benzo[b]furan, 2-cyano-photochemical reactions, 4, 636 Benzo[b]furan, 2,3-dialkyl-synthesis, 4, 710 Benzo[b]furan, 2,3-dihydro-aromaticity... 

The photochemical reactions of organic compounds attracted great interest in the 1960s. As a result, many useful and fascinating reactions were uncovered, and photochemistry is now an important synthetic tool in organic chemistry. A firm basis for mechanistic description of many photochemical reactions has been developed. Some of the more general types of photochemical reactions will be discussed in this chapter. In Section 13.2, the relationship of photochemical reactions to the principles of orbital symmetry will be considered. In later sections, characteristic photochemical reactions of alkenes, dienes, carbonyl compounds, and aromatic rings will be introduced. 

The azulenium ion (15), while possessing the characteristic tropylium moiety, by merit of conjugation of the aromatic nucleus with a double bond, might be expected to undergo significantly different photochemical. reactions from 1 (van Tamelen et cU., 1968, 1971). In fact, when 15 is... 

The dimerization of ketones to 1,2-diols can also be accomplished photochemi-cally indeed, this is one of the most common photochemical reactions. The substrate, which is usually a diaryl or aryl alkyl ketone (though a few aromatic aldehydes and dialkyl ketones have been dimerized), is irradiated with UV light in the presence of a hydrogen donor such as isopropyl alcohol, toluene, or an amine. In the case of benzophenone, irradiated in the presence of 2-propanol, the ketone molecule initially undergoes n — k excitation, and the singlet species thus formed crosses to the T, state with a very high efficiency. 

No electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions of toluene, ethylbenzene, and cumene occur with BBrj in the dark the electrophile is too weak for these reactions. The photochemical reactions followed by hydrolysis give the p-isomers of the corresponding boronic acids as the major products (delocalization band in Scheme 9) [44]. 

The aryl-thallium bond is thus apparently capable of displacement either by electrophilic or by suitable nucleophilic reagents. Coupled with its propensity for homolytic cleavage (spontaneous in the case of ArTlIj compounds, and otherwise photochemically induced), ArTlXj compounds should be capable of reacting with a wide variety of reagents under a wide variety of conditions. Since the position of initial aromatic thallation can be controlled to a remarkable degree, the above reactions may be only representative of a remarkably versatile route to aromatic substitution reactions in which organothallium compounds play a unique and indispensable role. 

It is important to point out at this point that the rate constant k and the quantum yield for a photochemical reaction are not fundamentally related. Since the quantum yield depends upon relative rates, the reactivity may be very high (large kr), but if other processes are competing with larger rates, the quantum yield efficiency of the reaction will be very small. That there is no direct correlation between the quantum yield and the rate is clearly seen from the data in Table 1.2 for the photoreduction of some substituted aromatic ketones in isopropanol ... 

The alternate approach of Dewar and Zimmerman can be illustrated by an examination of the 1,3,5-hexatriene system.<81,92> The disrotatory closure has no sign discontinuity (Hiickel system) and has 4n + 2 (where n = 1) ir electrons, so that the transition state for the thermal reaction is aromatic and the reaction is thermally allowed. For the conrotatory closure there is one sign discontinuity (Mobius system) and there are 4u + 2 (n = 1) ir electrons, so that the transition state for the thermal reaction is antiaromatic and forbidden but the transition state for the photochemical reaction is aromatic or allowed (see Chapter 8 and Table 9.8). If we reexamine the butadiene... 

PET reactions [2] can be considered as versatile methods for generating radical cations from electron-rich olefins and aromatic compounds [3], which then can undergo an intramolecular cationic cyclization. Niwa and coworkers [4] reported on a photochemical reaction of l,l-diphenyl-l, -alkadienes in the presence of phenanthrene (Phen) and 1,4-dicyanobenzene (DCNB) as sensitizer and electron acceptor to construct 5/6/6- and 6/6/6-fused ring systems with high stereoselectivity. 

The literature of mechanistic aromatic photochemistry has produced a number of examples of [4 + 4]-photocycloadditions. The photodimerization of anthracene and its derivatives is one of the earliest known photochemical reactions of any type97. More recently, naphthalenes98, 2-pyridones" and 2-aminopyridinium salts100 have all been shown to undergo analogous head-to-tail [4 + 4]-photodimerization. Moreover, crossed [4+4]-photocycloaddition products can be obtained in some cases101. Acyclic 1,3-dienes, cyclohexadienes and furan can form [4 + 4]-cycloadducts 211-214 with a variety of aromatic partners (Scheme 48). 

Hashimoto, S. and Akimoto, H. (1989). UV absorption spectra and photochemical reactions of simple aromatic hydrocarbons in the cryogenic oxygen matrix. J. Phys. 

The photochemical reaction of azide-functionalized tetrazole derivatives such as 38 leads to the formation of the 5-5 bicyclic ring system 40 (Scheme 5) in very moderate yields <1999JHC863>. This reaction is believed to proceed via the singlet nitrene intermediate 39. Attack at the aromatic substituent in ortho position leads to product 40 <1974JOG2546> by subsequent cyclization. This intermediate is deprotonated during the workup conditions to the mesoionic tricyclic derivative 41. 

Applying these rules in pericyclic reactions it has been shown and a generalization given that thermal reactiom occur via aromatic transition states while photochemical reactions proceed via antiaromatic transition state. A cyclic transition state is considered to be aromatic or isoconjugate with the corresponding aromatic system if the member of conjugated atoms and that of the n... 

From the foregoing discussion it might seem fruitless to utilize MNP to investigate photochemical reactions. However, the monomer is transparent between ca. 270 and 550 nm, and by irradiating reaction mixtures in this window excellent results have been obtained without complications from DTBN formation (Leaver et al., 1969 Leaver and Ramsay, 1969a,b Torssell, 1970). This expedient is unfortunately not infallible, there being good evidence that aromatic ketones can photosensitize MNP dissociation (Ikeda et al., 1978). 

The importance of tertiary amines in the photochemically induced electron transfer reactions has also been addressed5. Direct irradiation of aromatic or aliphatic amines often leads to the scission of C—N, N—H or C—H bonds that lead to the subsequent chemical reactions by radical pathways6. In this section, photochemical reactions of amines reported since 1978 will be considered with emphasis on photoinduced electron transfer. Photochemical reactions of inorganic and organometallic compounds will not be included unless photochemistry of amine moieties is the primary interest. 

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