Bicyclo octa-2,4-diene tautomerism

XXIII. Valence Tautomerism of 1.3.5-Cyclooctatriene and Bicyclo(4.2.0)-octa-2.4-diene. J. Amer. chem. Soc. 74, 4867 (1952). 

Barton has suggested 35> that in photochemical reactions of cyclic conjugated olefins, ring fission will predominate in rings of n annular atoms containing (n/2)-l double bonds and valence tautomerization will occur in other systems. Consequently, it was anticipated that 1,3,5-cyclo-octatriene upon photolysis should give rise to an acyclic tetraene in the same manner that 1,3-cyclohexadiene opens 35> 36> to 1,3,5-hexatriene. When 1,3,5-cyclooctatriene (55) was irradiated in solution (ether or pentane) 37> 39> two isomerization products were isolated, bicyclo[4.2.0]-octa-2,7-diene (56) and tricyclo[5.1.0.0 4> 8]oct-2-ene (57). The formation of 56 is not exceptional. The formation of 57 has been visualized by... 

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