Photoreductive dissociation

All phytoplankton can assimilate the more labile forms of dissolved inorganic Fe(ll) and Fe(lll), and this is the main assimilation mode for bacteria under iron-replete conditions (Granger Price 1999). Extracellular bioreduction is an important route to these labile forms, but the photoreductive dissociation of Fe(lll) chelates in oceanic surface waters may play a major role in sustaining phyto-planktonic productivity (Sunda Huntsman 1995), as has been proposed for the aquachelins (Barbeau et al. 2001). 

Many Com(Con) complexes are photosensitive and cleavage of axial bonds to Co is induced by visible light.254,267 For alkyl, mercapto, sulfinato and selenocyanato Co111 corrins, homolytic fission (photoreduction) proceeds, whereas heterolytic dissociation (photoaquation) occurs for amino and cyano complexes. These photoprocesses are considered to be initiated by n -> n excitations. 

Because of the rapidity with which the first-formed excited states are usually converted to the Sx or Tx state, most photochemical reactions start from these states. There are exceptions. An obvious one is when an upper dissociative excited state, in which the molecule immediately fragments, is populated.49 Other exceptions occur when a molecule contains two different chromophores. For example, 20 reacts analogously to franj-stilbene (21) from its state but also undergoes photoreduction, a process typical of an n,n state (see p. 719).60... 

The photoreduction of 2- and 3-chloroanisole in alcoholic solvents has been studied and is considered to be best accounted for by invoking methoxyphenyl radicals which abstract hydrogen atoms from the solvent378.4-Chloroanisole probably reacts partly via a homolytic cleavage, but in view of the results of quenching and sensitization experiments, another pathway consists of electron transfer from the solvent (ROH) to excited aryl halide, followed by dissociation of the radical anion into chloride ion and aryl radical. 

This value is much larger than that observed in the previously reported deracemizations of [Cr(ox)3]3 and Cr(acac)3. In this reaction, the basic condition is necessary, and the addition of Hacac increases the enantiomer excess, for which the reason will be discussed below. The reaction mechanism shown in Scheme 17 was proposed. In the mechanism, the 3MLCT excited A- [Ru(( — )-men-bpy)3]2+ is oxidatively quenched by Co(acac)3 to form an exciplex with Co(acac)3 followed by electron transfer to Co(acac)3 from A- [Ru(( — )-menbpy)3]2 +, which leads to the formation of a successor complex, [A-Ruin(( — )-menbpy)33 + Con(acac)3 ]. This successor complex dissociates to A-[Rum(( — )-menbpy)3]3+, Co(acac)2, and acac. If the reducing reagent is absent or the reducing reagent does not effectively reduce the ruthenium(III) complex, Co(acac)2 reduces A-[Rum(( — )-menbpy)3]3+ to A-[Run(( — )-menbpy)3]2+ concomitantly with the formation of Co(acac)3. As discussed in Sec. II.A., the photoreduction of Co-(acac)3 occurs stereoselectively. In addition, the oxidation of Co(acac)2 to Co-(acac)3 occurs stereoselectively, because Co(acac)2 reacts with the chiral ruthen-... 

Enzymatically active NADH has been selectively produced by visible light photoreduction of NAD using [Ru(bipy)3]S04 and [Ru(bipy)3]2(S04)3 as sensitizers and triethanolamine as electron donor (Wienkamp and Steckhan). There is continuing interest in the photogeneration of co-ordinatedly unsaturated species from metal carbonyls etc. which can act as or give rise to catalysts, e.g., for cis-trans isomerization and hydrogenation of alkenes. Ger-rity et al. have used chromium hexacarbonyl to make the first quantitative measurements of the distribution of atomic excited states produced by multiphoton dissociation of a metal carbonyl. The distribution of states turns out to be statistical rather than spin- or polarity-difierentiated. The use of perfluoromethylcyclohexane as solvent has enabled Simon and Peters to observe naked Cr(CO)s as a transient from Cr(CO)6. 

McDowell and coworkers (15J studied the high resolution infrared spectrum of UF5 at ambient and low temperatures. This work was followed by a series of vibrational and electronic spectroscopic studies of matrix isolated UFg (16,17,18,19,20). In the first experiments, UFg deposited in Ar or CO matrices was vibrationally characterized by infrared spectroscopy and then exposed to broadband UV radiation at 10°K. In argon, photoreduction proceeded rapidly the 619 cirri UF5 infrared peak decreased in intensity while two new peaks grew in at 584 cirri anc 561 cirri. The new peaks were assigned to the expected UF5 photolysis product and a tentative C4V structure assignment was made. The wavelength dependence of the photoreduction was studied using a monochroma-tized UV source (1 kw Hg-Xe lamp, Schoeffel 6M-250 monochromator). The relative quantum efficiency of the UF5 dissociation per unit absorbance of UFg was found to be relatively constant in the allowed B-X absorption band (250-300 nm) (T7). Radiation in the... 

Gray et al. have reported a very interesting cyclic process for the photoreduction of water to hydrogen at 546 nm based on use of a rhodium complex and the dissociation of HCl to hydrogen and chlorine atoms. 

While the availability of hydrogen atoms and/or hydride ions for photoreductions in organic solvents is apparent, the usual presence of reduced products from the photolysis of pesticides in aqueous media remains anomalous. Energy for the homolytic cleavage of water (about 118 kcal/mole) probably would not be derived from the sunlight spectrum, and the unlikely backward ionic dissociation of water to form hydride and hydroxonium (HO" ) ions never has been demonstrated. 

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