Direct photolysis reaction

Table 15.7 Direct Photolysis Reaction Quantum Yields of Some Selected Organic Pollutants in Aqueous Solution...

Under the second condition, that the by-product (BYP) formation is significant, the direct photolysis reaction of M with respect to time is given by Equation (7.22) ... 

At present, it is accepted (26) that the acetal group at the Cl position of the anhydroglucose unit acts as a chromophore which in high molecular weight polysaccharides produces a band absorption and thus induces direct photolysis reactions. 

The Ti02-mediated photocatalytic oxidation process can readily degrade 4-chlorophenol in aqueous solutions, with a complete mineralization to carbon dioxide and chloride ions, whereas the direct photolysis of 4-chlorophenol generates only a small amount of carbon dioxide. The distribution of intermediates during the course of the reaction shows that the reaction mechanism of the photocatalytic oxidation process is clearly different from that of the direct photolysis reaction. 

Although complex chemical transformations — mainly photochemical — take place in the atmosphere, many chemically stable compounds may be transported intact via the atmosphere and subsequently enter the aquatic and terrestrial environments in the form of precipitation. Although the whole issue of chemical reactions in the troposphere lies outside the scope of this account, some comments are given in Chapter 4, Section 4.1.2, and reference should be made to the comprehensive account of principles given by Finlay-son-Pitts and Pitts (1986). The persistence in the troposphere of xenobiotics — even those of moderate or low volatility — is determined by the rates of transformation processes. These involve reactions with hydroxyl radicals, nitrate radicals, and ozone, or direct photolysis. Reactions with hydroxyl radicals are generally the most important. Illustrative values are given for the rates of reaction (cm3 s 1 molecule1) with hydroxyl radicals, nitrate radicals, and ozone (Atkinson 1990). 

Figure Bl.16.2. X-band TREPR spectra obtained at 0.1 ps after 308 mn photolysis of a fliiorinated peroxide dimer in Freon 113 at room temperature. Part A is the A/E RPM spectrum obtained upon direct photolysis part B is the E/A RPM spectrum obtained upon triplet sensitization of this reaction using benzophenone.

The Cyclooctene Isomerization. A reaction that attracted some attention in recent years is the cis-trans isomerization of cyclooctene [84]. The cis isomer is much less strained than the trans, but the latter is readily fonned upon direct photolysis and also upon photosensitization. In this case, two enantiomeric trans isomers are formed. The appropriate loop is a variation of that shown in Figure 14, as shown in Figure 34. This is a phase inverting i -type loop, that... 

Direct photochemical excitation of unconjugated alkenes requires light with A < 230 nm. There have been relatively few studies of direct photolysis of alkenes in solution because of the experimental difficulties imposed by this wavelength restriction. A study of Z- and -2-butene diluted with neopentane demonstrated that Z E isomerization was competitive with the photochemically allowed [2tc + 2n] cycloaddition that occurs in pure liquid alkene. The cycloaddition reaction is completely stereospecific for each isomer, which requires that the excited intermediates involved in cycloaddition must retain a geometry which is characteristic of the reactant isomer. As the ratio of neopentane to butene is increased, the amount of cycloaddition decreases relative to that of Z E isomerization. This effect presumably is the result of the veiy short lifetime of the intermediate responsible for cycloaddition. When the alkene is diluted by inert hydrocarbon, the rate of encounter with a second alkene molecule is reduced, and the unimolecular isomerization becomes the dominant reaction. 

Atrazine is successively transformed to 2,4,6-trihydroxy-l,3,5-triazine (Pelizzetti et al. 1990) by dealkylation of the alkylamine side chains and hydrolytic displacement of the ring chlorine and amino groups (Figure 1.3). A comparison has been made between direct photolysis and nitrate-mediated hydroxyl radical reactions (Torrents et al. 1997) the rates of the latter were much greater under the conditions of this experiment, and the major difference in the products was the absence of ring hydroxylation with loss of chloride. 

With respect to using methyl viologen as electron relay, it might be of interest to note tlmt MV " can be oxidized by positive holes produced in illuminated colloidal semiconductors such as Ti02 Two oxidation products of MV are 1, 2 -di-hydro-l,r-dimethyl-2 -oxo-4,4 -bipyridylium chloride and 3,4-dihydro-l,r-dime-thyl-3-oxo-4,4 -bipyridylium chloride, which can readily be detected by their strong fluorescences at 516 nm and 528 nm, respectively. These products are also produced in the direct photolysis of MV " solutions and in the reaction of MV "" with OH radicals in homogeneous solution... 

The results of this study are presented in Table 4.7. As can be seen from the data in Table 4.7, decarbonylation with hydrogen or deuterium transfer to the resulting radical is a relatively efficient process. The failure to observe this reaction using acetone or acetophenone as photosensitizer would suggest a singlet pathway for the direct photolysis of the aldehyde. In agreement, decarbonylation could not be quenched by naphthalene, piperylene, or 1,3-cyclohexadiene when the aldehyde was excited directly. The reaction could, however, be somewhat quenched by the addition of tri-n-butylstannane. The products in this case were... 

A recently popular mechanism involves the intersystem crossing of the cis- or trons-stilbene singlet state, produced upon direct photolysis, to its corresponding triplet states, which would then undergo the type of reactions given in Eqs. (9.8M9.10) and (9.17M9.19) ... 

As with 2-cyclopentenone, the ratio (70) (71) varies with the molar concentration of the enone, the head-to-head dimer (71) becoming increasingly important at higher concentrations/133 This reaction is efficiently sensitized by acetophenone, benzophenone, thioxanthone, and naphthalene. The same enone concentration effect was observed in the sensitized photo-dimerization as in the direct photolysis. Similarly, quenching of the dimerization by piperylene was not accompanied by a change in dimer ratio. Systematic... 

Dimers (73) and (74) were formed in approximately equal amounts in all cases, although, as in the cases of 2-cyclopentenone and 2-cyclohexenone, the relative amount of (72) (either cis-syn-cis or cis-anti-cis) was found to vary substantially with solvent polarity. As in 2-cyclopentenone, this increase in the rate of head-to-head dimerization was attributed to stabilization of the increase in dipole moment in going to the transition state leading to (72) in polar solvents. It is thought that the solvent effect in this case is not associated with the state of aggregation since a plot of Stem-Volmer plot and complete quenching with 0.2 M piperylene indicate that the reaction proceeds mainly from the triplet manifold. However, the rates of formation of head-to-head and head-to-tail dimers do not show the same relationship when sensitized by benzophenone as in the direct photolysis. This effect, when combined with different intercepts for head-to-head and head-to-tail dimerizations quenched by piperylene in the Stem-Volmer plot, indicates that two distinct excited triplet states are involved with differing efficiencies of population. The nature of these two triplets has not been disclosed. 

Strong evidence in favor of mechanism B was obtained when it was discovered that singlet oxygen produced chemically by the reaction of hydrogen peroxide and sodium hydrochlorite or from gaseous oxygen excited by an electrodeless discharge yields the same products as the direct photolysis/85-8 ... 

The quantum yield for isomerization in the direct photolysis was found to be d> = 0.94. The reaction could also be sensitized with acetophenone ( = 1.02) and quenched with piperylene, indicating a reactive triplet species with a rate constant kr of 3 x 10l°sec-1. With a 3-(p-methoxyphenyl) derivative two products were obtained<81) ... 

Upon low conversion direct photolysis the cis isomer (10) gave only the cis isomer (12) and the trans isomer (11) gave only the trans isomer (13). The triplet sensitized reaction of (10) and (11) gave rise only to cis-trans isomerization. Thus the di-ir-methane photorearrangement from the triplet state cannot compete with triplet state deactivation via cis-trans isomerization (Zimmerman has termed this the free rotor effect). Several other examples of regio-specilicity and stereospecificity in di-w-methane photoreactions are as followsa8 a3) ... 

An interesting gas-phase study of the photolysis of ftmy-l-phenyl-2-butene has been published by Comtet.(39,40) He has found that (a) it was not possible to quench the formation of the cyclopropane product under conditions that reduced the fluorescence quantum yield, (b) sensitization by acetophenone only gave cis-trans isomerization, and (c) the quantum yield of cyclopropane formation in the direct photolysis decreases as n-butane is added to the reaction mixture. Comtet suggests that the data are consistent with a reaction from the second triplet state. 

While direct photolysis of (46) gave (48), the sensitized photolysis of (46) with acetophenone gave only the cyclopropane product (>93%). These authors favor a stepwise oxa-di-w-methane reaction mechanism (8.69) inasmuch as a concerted reaction should produce the product without a change in multiplicity. That is, the product would have to be formed in the triplet state and not enough energy is available for the product to be formed in an excited state ... 

Attempts to sensitize this reaction resulted in no product formation, suggesting participation of a benzene singlet in the direct photolysis. Irradiation of isoprene in excess benzene resulted in products similar to those observed with butadiene/7 Irradiation of toluene and o- and p-xylene in the presence of isoprene yielded products similar to (62).<72)... 

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