Photolysis sensitized

Benzene-sensitized photolysis of methyl 3-cyclohexene-1-carboxylate in acetic acid leads to addition of acetic acid to the double bond. Only the trans adducts are formed. What factor(s) is (are) responsible for the reaction stereochemistry Which of the two possible addition products, A or B, do you expect to be the major product ... 

In the analogous studies of the photolysis of sulfolane (31), the work of Honda and coworkers66 was carried out in the gas phase at 70-130 °C and established the formation of S02, ethylene, cyclobutane and acetylene as the major products, on mercury-sensitized photolysis. In considerable contrast, photolysis of sulfolane at 185 nm in the liquid phase67 produced ethylene( = 0.22), the sultine (32) (parallel experiments on aqueous solutions of sulfolane, a sulfinic acid is also believed to be formed. The authors believe that both four-membered (33) and six-membered (32) sultines may be formed during these photolyses. Further work in this area would appear to be necessary to unravel the full mechanistic details. 

Chlorinated dibenzo ip-dioxins are contaminants of phenol-based pesticides and may enter the environment where they are subject to the action of sunlight. Rate measurements showed that 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is more rapidly photolyzed in methanol than octachlorodi-benzo-p-dioxin. Initially TCDD yields 2,3,7-trichlorodiben-zo-p-dioxin, and subsequent reductive dechlorination is accompanied by ring fission. Pure dibenzo-p-dioxin gave polymeric material and some 2,2 -dihydroxybiphenyl on irradiation. Riboflavin-sensitized photolysis of the potential precursors of dioxins, 2,4-dichlorophenol and 2,4,5-trichloro-phenol, in water gave no detectable dioxins. The products identified were chlorinated phenoxyphenols and dihydroxy-biphenyls. In contrast, aqueous alkaline solutions of purified pentachlorophenol gave traces of octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin on irradiation. 

In order to defer stereochemical questions we will consider first the photoreaction of 6,6-diphenyl-cyclohexa-2,5-dienone (6). Either direct or sensitized photolysis<3,7,8) of compound (6) in aqueous dioxane follows the following course ... 

Naphthobarrelene gives naphthosemibullvalene via vinyl-vinyl bridging upon either direct or sensitized photolysis(48) (4>dlr = 0.45, 4 ,en = 0.47) ... 

The sensitized photolysis of butadiene has been extensively investigated by Hammond and co-workers.<8-ia> Irradiation of butadiene in the presence of a sensitizer that absorbs all of the light yields dimers (8) and (9) and the cyclohexene dimer (13) ... 

In the presence of benzophenone, (8) was again the major product (>95°/0) and only trace amounts of the cyclohexane products were produced. These results suggest the intermediacy of a singlet 1,6-hexylene biradical in the direct photolysis and a longer lived triplet 1,6-diradical in the sensitized photolysis. In the triplet biradical more time is available for 1,6-hydrogen transfer to occur prior to spin inversion and hence more olefin (8) is produced. Similar results were reported for the direct and photosensitized photolysis of the 3,8-dimethyl derivative of (7). 

Similar products are obtained from the photosensitized decomposition of the tertiary azides, suggesting that decomposition may result from the triplet azides under both direct and sensitized photolysis/461 Additional evidence for a discrete nitrene intermediate comes from the observation that this intermediate can be trapped by decomposition of the azides in the presence of good hydrogen donors such as tri- -butyItin hydride and jec-butyl mercaptan. Triarylamines result ... 

In addition, it was observed that the sensitized photolysis produced the same distribution of products with the same efficiency (fingerprint characteristic of the triplet state). From quenching studies the specific rate constant for the rearrangement could be obtained. Phenyl migration rearrangement is of intermediate efficiency, interposed between the more efficient and less efficient type A processes (Table 7.4). The type of mechanism proposed for this transformation is as follows ... 

Brewer and Heaney<45> observed the same type of rearrangement with tetra-fluorobenzobarrelene, while Friedman found that dibenzobarrelene formed dibenzosemibullvalene upon sensitized photolysis(46,47> ... 

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 ... 

As mentioned briefly in Chapter 5, the photodimerization of acenaphthylene is subject to a very interesting heavy-atom solvent effect. The results of the photolysis of acenaphthylene in some heavy-atom solvents are given in Table 10.6.<4a) The data in Table 10.6 show that the heavy-atom solvents n-propyl bromide and ethyl iodide yield product ratios similar to that obtained in the sensitized photolysis, indicating a greater role of the triplet state in... 

Many reports concerning the direct and sensitized photolysis of cyclic azo compounds have appeared/11 Photolysis of meso and d,l forms of azo compound (2) results in varying mixtures of products (3), (4), and (5) ... 

Though the triplet sensitized photolysis of isoprene (159) does, as noted above, produce a complex mixture of products, one of these adducts has been used in the context of complex molecule synthesis (equation 5)71. Cyclobutane 160, which was formed in ca 20% yield by the benzophenone sensitized photolysis of 159, could be easily transformed into fragrantolol, 161, an isomer of grandisol isolated from the roots of the Artemisia fragrans, by simple hydroboration/oxidation of the less hindered double bond. 

Cohen and Heicklen 46 investigated the mercury-sensitized photolysis of C2F4 and were able to determine the rate constant for the reaction... 

In an attempt to sensitize the thiosulfate bond cleavage, benzophenone (10% by weight) was incorporated into the polymer film. Upon photolysis at 366 nm, the 639 cm 1 thiosulfate band was reduced (Figure 10) as in the case of direct photolysis at 254 nm and 280 nm. Since benzophenone is a known triplet sensitizer it is likely that the S-S bond cleavage in the thiosulfate group occurs from a triplet excited state in the sensitized reaction. Incidentally photolysis of a PATE film at 366 nm in the absence of benzophenone resulted in no loss of the 639 cm 1 IR peak. Unfortunately due to the film thickness, we were unable to obtain accurate quantum yields for either the direct or sensitized photolysis. Finally it should be noted that no chemical evidence has been presented to confirm disulfide formation. Results from the photolysis of a PATE-type model compound will be offered to substantiate the claim of disulfide formation as well as quantitate the primary photolysis step. But first, we consider photolysis of a PASE polymer film. 

Birse and Melville55 measured the disappearance of N2H4 in the presence of hydrogen atoms generated by mercury-sensitized photolysis of H255. They could not discriminate between reactions (4) and (5) and assumed that the H atoms were removed by reaction (4). In view of the more recent experiments with D atoms it is, however, more likely that they determined the rate of reaction (5). They report a rate coefficient... 

The photosensitized decomposition reduces the hydride shift, as may be expected for a triplet species. However, the stereochemical change in the cycloaddition is relatively small. Similieir results were obtained by Baer and Gutsche for the sensitized photolysis of o-n-butyl-phenyl-diazomethane 63... 

Photochemically generated benzoylcarbene (from diazo-aceto-phenone) shows httle change in the stereochemistry of the cycloaddition as between direct and sensitized photolysis. This could also be attributed to a singlet-tiiplet-equilib-rium... 

The influence of mercury sensitization on the exchange rate was checked by Nadler and Turbini using a Vycor filter to eliminate light absorbed by borazine. In both cases the effect of mercury-sensitized photolysis was small compared to the effect of direct photolysis. 

Only a few photochemical reactions of carboranes have been reported in the literature. Plotkin and Sneddon synthesized a carborane dimer by the Hg-sensitized photolysis of C2B5H7 (Fig. 6). 

In contrast to 2-alkylarylcarbenes, triplet carbonyl carbenes do not abstract H from 5- or e-CH bonds. Photolysis of diazo compounds (7) in methanol gave products due to Wolff rearrangement (8) and 0-H insertion (9). Sensitized photolysis led, in addition, to the H-abstraction product (10). Analysis of the results indicated that a large proportion of the insertion product (9) arises from the excited diazo compound and that spin inversion of the triplet carbene is faster than H-abstraction from the solvent. Intersystem crossing to the singlet state is a major reaction of all triplet carbonyl carbenes that are not rapidly scavenged intramolecularly. 

Photolytic. When a dilute aqueous solution (1-10 mg/L) of bromacil was exposed to sunlight for 4 months, the TV-dealkylated photoproduct, 5-bromo-6-methyluracil, formed in small quantities. This compound is less stable than bromacil and upon further irradiation, the de-brominated product, 6-methyluracil was formed (Moilanen and Crosby, 1974). Acher and Dunkelblum (1979) studied the dye-sensitized photolysis of aerated aqueous solutions of bromacil using sunlight as the irradiation source. After 1 h, a mixture of diastereoisomers of 3-5ec-butyl-5-acetyl-5-hydroxyhydantoin formed in an 83% yield. In a subsequent study, another minor intermediate was identified as a 5,5 -photoproduct of 3-5ec-butyl-6-methyluracil. In this study, the rate of photooxidation increased with pH. The most effective sensitizers were riboflavin (10 ppm) and methylene blue (2-5 ppm) (Acher and Saltzman, 1980). Direct photodegradation of bromacil is not significant (Acher and Dunkelblum, 1979 Ishihara, 1963). 

Photolytic. Acher et al. (1981) studied the dye-sensitized photolysis of terbacil in aerated aqueous solutions over a wide pH range. After a 2-h exposure to sunlight, terbacil in aqueous solution (pH range 3.0-9.2) in the presence of methylene blue (3 ppm) or riboflavin (10 ppm) decomposed to 3-ter/-5-butyl-5-acetyl-5-hydroxyhydantoin. Deacylation was observed under alkaline conditions (pH 8.0 or 9.2) affording 3-/er/-5-hydroxyhydantoin. In neutral or acidic conditions (pH 6.8 or 3.0) containing riboflavin, a mono-Wdealkylated terbacil dimer and an unidentified water-soluble product formed. Product formation, the relative amounts of products formed, and the rate of photolysis were all dependent upon pH, sensitizer, temperature, and time (Acher et ah, 1981). 

Hawari, J., Demeter, A., and Samson, R. Sensitized photolysis of polychlorobiphenyls in alkaline 2-propanol dechlorination of Aroclor 1254 in soil samples by solar radiation, Environ. Sci. Technol., 26(10) 2022-2027, 1992. 

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