Electron-transfer photochemistry of thianthrene. Nucleophile-assisted photooxidation to sulfoxide
作者:Guilford Jones、Bin Huang、Susan F. Griffin
DOI:10.1021/jo00060a016
日期:1993.4
The photochemistry of thianthrene (1) in the presence of a variety of electron acceptors in acetonitrile/water has been investigated. Diffusion-limited rates of fluorescence quenching were observed on excitation of 1 (with fumaronitrile and with methyl phthalate). Alternatively, addition of 1 led to quenching of the fluorescence emission of ketones, biacetyl, and fluorenone and to the quenching of the excited triplet states of quinones such as 2,5-dichloro-p-benzoquinone (5) and 9,10-anthraquinone (3). Steady irradiation of 1 with selected acceptors results in photooxidation yielding the sulfoxide (2) and the expected photoreduction products. The electron-transfer mechanisms were further studied by laser flash photolysis. The quenching of ketone triplets by 1 resulted in formation of the radical cation of 1 (lambda(max) 540 nm). The decay of this species and its dependence on the concentration of water present were determined; the bimolecular rate constant for trapping of 1'+ by water in acetonitrile-water solutions is 4.9 x 10(4) m-1 s-1 under conditions in which 5 acts as a sensitizer. The nucleophilic trapping of the 1 radical cation by imidazole (k = 3.6 x 10(7) m-1 s-1) was also investigated. The mechanism of photoinduced two-electron oxidation of 1 and the role played by nucleophiles in facilitating the reaction are discussed in detail.