Photooxygenation and Photoreduction

Compared with photooxygenation, i.e. the photochemical activation of oxygen, the definition of photoreduction is more difficult. Many photochemical processes involve redox reactions where one part of the substrate (in intramolecular reactions) or a second molecule (in intermolecular reactions) is reduced and the original substrate is oxidized (or 

General Singlet Oxygen H. H. Wasserman, R. W. Murray, (Eds.), 1979, Academic Press, New York Singlet O2 A. A. Primer (Ed.), 1984, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FI. Organic Peroxides W. Ando (Ed.), 1992, Wiley, New York. 

Reviews on singlet oxygen and on photo electron transfer oxygenations K. H. Pformer in Photochemistry in Organic Synthesis J. D. Coyle (Ed.), 1986, The Royal Society of Chemistry, London C. S. Foote, Acc. Chem. Res. 1968, 1, 104 D. R. Kearns, Chem. Rev. 1971, 71, 395 R. W. Denny, A. Nickon, Organic Reactions 1973, 20, 133 L. Lopez, Top. Curr. Chem. 1990,156, 117. 

To a suspension of 1.00 g (26.4 mmol) of lithium aluminium hydride in 15 mL of dry ether was added under stirring a solution of S.OO g (50.9 mmol) of freshly distilled mesityl oxide in 10 mL of ether at a rate to keep the mixture at gentle reflux. Stirring was continued for 30 min, then 1 mL of water, 1 mL of 15% aqueous sodium hydroxide and 

5 mL of water were introduced slowly (caution vigorous evolution of hydrogen gas). The precipitate was removed by filtration and the solution dried over sodium carbonate. Distillation afforded 4.23 g (83%) of a colorless liquid with bp 87 - 89 °C/90 Torr. 

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