Triplet photoisomerization

Again two products were obtained from a reactive triplet state with a rate constant for photoisomerization of 2 x 1011. This rate, however, is over six times greater than that obtained for the unsubstituted phenyl derivative and indicates that the p-cyano-phenyl group facilitates reaction by stabilization of the intermediate biradical. 

Evidence that eliminates the triplet mechanism as the mode for the cis-trans isomerization of stilbene upon direct photolysis has been provided by azulene quenching studies.(48) Using the experimentally determined decay ratio a/(l — a) and the triplet mechanism, it is possible to calculate what the effect of azulene is upon the pss. The predicted and observed azulene effects on the direct photoisomerization are shown in Figure 9.6. The failure of the triplet mechanism in predicting the very small changes observed in the pss provides a crucial test that is the basis for rejecting the triplet mechanism. 

The effects of nitro substituents on the cis-trans isomerization of stilbenes has been reviewed70 (equation 63). The trans-to-cis isomerization occurs from a triplet excited state, whereas the reverse cis-to-trans isomerization occurs through a main route which bypasses the triplet state. A nitro substituent usually causes a significant enhancement of the quantum yield of the intersystem crossing. Nitro substituent effects on the photoisomerization of trans-styrylnaphthalene71 (equation 64), trans-azobenzenes72 and 4-nitrodiphenylazomethines73 (equation 65) have been studied for their mechanisms. 

In a study of the photoisomerization of 4,4-dimethyl-2-cyclohexenone (8) to 6,6-dimethylbicyclo[3.1.0]-hexane-2-one (9) and 3-isopropyl-2-cyclo-pentenone (10), Chapman and Wampfler48 accounted for the pronounced effect of sensitizer concentration by such a self-quenching mechanism. The phenomenon was exhibited by four ketones with () lowest triplet states but not by benzophenone or acetophenone which have (w, n) triplet states.49... 

In the triplet counting technique the substance whose intersystem crossing yield is to be determined is used as a sensitizer for the photoisomerization of piperylene (1,3-pentadiene). Under conditions where essentially all of the sensitizer triplets are intercepted by diene, the quantum yield of isomerization is directly proportional to the intersystem crossing yield of the sensitizer. If the diene interferes with sensitizer singlets however, the yield of triplets will fall, resulting in an anomalously low value for 0,. 

E. Photoisomerization of benzene. Photolysis of liquid benzene by excitation to its (7t, jr ) states brings about interesting photochemical transform ations from vibronically excited singlet as well as triplet states (Figure 7.8). 

Several photoisomerization reactions also proceed by intramolecular hydrogen abstraction in a triplet state... 

The stilbenes absorb light strongly, and their excited singlets cross over to triplets fairly efficiently, from which state photoisomerization occurs. The lowest energy T - S0 absorption bands measured for cis-and rnm-stilbene are at 57 and 48-50 kcal, respectively. However, it is quite likely again that both spectroscopically formed triplets relax very rapidly to a common twisted triplet which decays to both geometric isomers. 

The products obtained upon direct excitation of butadiene,291 norbornadiene,292 cyclohexadiene,293 and other dienes294 are also completely different from those obtained by photosensitization, again demonstrating quite different chemical reactivity of excited singlet and triplet dienes. However, 1,l -bicyclohexenyl295 and 1,3-cycloocta-diene298 represent exceptions, undergoing both direct and sensitized photoisomerizations to cyclobutene derivatives. 

Several intriguing photoisomerizations can be best explained as proceeding by intramolecular hydrogen abstraction partly or wholly in an n,ir excited triplet state.384-387... 

Azobenzene readily undergoes both sensitized and direct cis-trans photoisomerization. However, the sensitized photostationary cis/trans ratios with high-energy sensitizers do not predict those obtained upon direct irradiation, indicating that much of the direct photoisomerization occurs from states other than the lowest triplet.455 As with stilbene, cyclization of the cis isomer apparently is a singlet-state reaction.456... 

Biacetyl sensitized photoisomerization of l,2-di-9-anthrylethane 7a does not lead to the 4n + 4n cyclomer 8a but yields exclusively the An + 2n cycloadduct 26 with a quantum yield of 0.1 [72]. Since the phosphorescence of biacetyl is quenched by dianthrylethane 7a at nearly diffusion controlled rate, the photochemical Diels-Alder reaction is explicable by triplet energy transfer from biacetyl to 7a. The photochemical isomerization of 10-benzoyl-l,2-di-9-anthrylethane 27 also proceeds exclusively by An + 2n cycloaddition and gives cycloadduct 28 with a quantum yield of 0.005 [73], The low fluorescence quantum yield of 27 (excited triplet state. Biacetyl sensitization of 27 leads to 28... 

Photolysis of matrix-isolated (trimethoxysilyl)diazomethane at X > 305 nm produced carbene 3e (equation 1), which was characterized by IR and UV-Vis spectroscopy23. Under these conditions, no other species besides the carbene could be detected spectroscopically. In an 02-doped (1%) argon matrix, the carbene rapidly reacted with oxygen to give carbonyl oxide 4 which was further photoisomerized to formylsilane 5. Again, the fast reaction of 3e with 302 points to a triplet ground state of the carbene. 

Photoisomerization of alkenes via the triplet excited state is known to be possible by triplet sensitization, usually efficient in conjugated C=C bonds that fulfill the requirement of possessing triplet excited energies below those of the typical triplet sensitizers such as acetone, acetophenone, benzophenone, etc. (Table 2). Sensitization with the opposite order of triplet excited energies is possible in cases with strong electronic or strong... 

In non-viscous organic solvents the fluorescence efficiency of most SNA derivatives is comparable to that of TS as are the yields of trans to ois photoisomerization (33,3A). The double chain derivatives, MSNA and MSN, show substantially higher fluorescence yields (0.2 0.02) in non-viscous solvents with a corresponding decrease in the trans to ois isomerization efficiency (3A). In the sensitized isomerization, the MSN derivatives investigated thus far show only photoisomerization but there is an increase in the triplet lifetime by a factor of 2 however there is no change in the decay ratio of the isomerization precursor and the sum of the benzophenone sensitized isomerization efficiencies of ASA is approximately unity. When water insoluble SNA or MSNA molecules are spread as a film, either pure or in mixtures with insoluble fatty acids, at the air-water interface, it is found that the films show comparable behavior on compression to those of pure fatty acid with an indicated area per molecule of the surfactant stilbenes very close to that of a linear fatty acid (oa. 202 /molecule) (35). This suggests strongly that the TS chromophore in these molecules offers suitable molecular dimensions to pack into a crystalline-like array of linear parafin chains. 

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