Methylene iodide, photolysis

The primary process in the vacuum ultraviolet photolysis of methylene iodide has been studied by Style and Ward,12 who observed that irradiation with light of wavelength 1250-2000 A. excites the fluorescence spectrum of iodine. Attempts to observe any appreciable delay between light absorption and fluorescence were unsuccessful, and the intensity of fluorescence was directly proportional to the light intensity and the pressure of methylene iodide. It was concluded that the excited I2 was produced in the primary process,... 

Apparently the role of methanol is to intercept unstable species which otherwise tend to polymerize or rearrange. The methoxy peroxide (72) can be isolated in crystalline form if desired, but it is preferable to treat the methylene dichloride solution at 0° with zinc dust and acetic acid until the mixture shows a negative potassium iodide test. The resulting crude seco-aldehyde (73) is then cyclized to (74) by stirring with neutral alumina in benzene at room temperature for 3 hr. ° Wechter has recently reported a number of transformations of a 5yS-hydroxy-6yS-formyl-B-norpregnane prepared in 8% yield by photolysis and hydrolysis of a 5a-hydroxy-6 -azidopregnane. 

The flash photolysis of hexaarylbiimidazole produces imidazolyl radicals " which have been shown to be more nearly planar than the parent dimers ort/io-substituents in the aryl rings decrease the radical stability. The radicals oxidize electron-rich substrates by rapid electron abstraction from tertiary amines, iodide, and metal ions, and by hydrogen abstraction from phenols, mercaptans, secondary amines, and active methylene com-pounds." " Studies have been made of the photooxidation of /euco-triphenyl-methane dyes by these radicals." " ... 

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