Unprotected Alditols, Aldohexoses, and Related Compounds

Irradiation of unprotected carbohydrates was the subject of greatest photochemical interest to the early carbohydrate photochemists.1 The investigations of these early workers were concerned primarily with the effect of reaction conditions upon the photochemical process, rather than with the identity of the reaction products. Between 1960 and 1969, a comprehensive series of papers was published on the photochemical reactions of D-glucose and D-glucitol.95-99 These studies contributed greatly to understanding of the photochemistry of unprotected carbohydrates, as not only was the result of variation in the reaction conditions studied but also the structures of the products were determined. 

Extended irradiation of D-glucose and D-glucitol in the presence of oxygen results95-99 in considerable degradation of the starting materials (see Table XII). Such degradation is consistent with the radical 

Reactants D-Arabinose D-Gluconic Acid D-Glucuronic Acid Formal- dehyde References 

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