SELECTIVITY AND CHARGE TRANSFER IN PHOTOREACTIONS OF ARENES WITH OLEFINS 1. SUBSTITUTION VERSUS CYCLOADDITION

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0040-4020(01)96635-9

In photoreactions of arenes with olefins the mode of reaction strongly depends on the charge transfer between the starting materials.Substitution is preferred if the electron transfer becomes exergonic, i.e. if ΔG < 0 according to the Rehm-Weller equation.In some special systems substitution is avoided by electron transfer-triplet formation.Various photoreactions which already have been described in the literature are discussed in view of this ΔG-correlation besides own experimental results.