Mercury- and Cadmium-Photosensitized Reactions of β-Propiolactone

Article abstract of DOI:10.1246/bcsj.59.2559

The mercury- and cadmium-photosensitized reactions of β-propiolactone (PL) have been investigated.The gaseous products from the mercury-photosensitized reaction were carbon dioxide, ethylene, carbon monoxide, ethylene oxide, acetaldehyde, and methane, while the products obtained in the cadmium-photosensitized reaction were carbon monoxide, ethylene oxide, and acetaldehyde.In the mercury-photosensitized reaction, the quantum yields of the products were independent of the lactone pressure at pressures higher than 1500 Pa, while in the cadmium-photosensitized reaction, the quantum yields of the products decreased with the increase in the lactone pressure.Several possible reaction schemes have been proposed to explain the above kinetic behavior.The mercury- and cadmium-photosensitized reactions proceed through different intermediates, that is, a triplet lactone in the former and an excited complex between an excited cadmium atom and a lactone molecule in the latter.