ENHANCED PHOTODECARBOXYLATION EFFICIENCY OF α-HYDROXY-SUBSTITUTED ARYLACETIC ACIDS IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/0040-4039(90)80154-E

The photochemistry of several α-hydroxyarylacetic acids, including mandelic and benzilic acids, was studied in aqueous solution; these compounds photodecarboxylate, via α-hydroxyarylmethyl carbanions, with high quantum yields (Φ ca. 0.2-0.7), to give the corresponding arylmethanols in high yield (>50percent), in contrast to the parent arylacetic acids, which typically have Φ ca. 0.01-0.03.