Cyclobutene photochemistry. Substituent and wavelength effects on the photochemical ring opening of monocyclic alkylcyclobutenes
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abstract
The photochemical ring opening of cis- and trans-3,4-dimethyl-, 1,3,4-trimethyl-, and 1,2,3,4-tetramethylcyclobutene (1, 3, and 4, respectively) has been investigated in hydrocarbon solution with 193 nm and 214 nm light sources. Ring opening is non-stereospecific in all cases at both wavelengths. The ratio of dienes formed by the formally allowed to formally forbidden pathways in the photolysis of these compounds is highest (ca. 2) for the trimethylcyclobutenes, and approximately 1 for both cis and trans isomers of the di- and tetramethylcyclobutenes with 193 nm excitation. The diene distributions from photolysis of all compounds but cis-3 show slight wavelength dependence. Gas- and solution-phase UV absorption spectra are reported for 3 and 4, and indicate that there are at least three singlet excited states accessible in the 185–230 nm region in these molecules. The π,R(3s) state is the lowest energy state in the gas phase in 3 and 4. The results verify that orbital symmetry factors do not play a role (or a consistent one, at least) in controlling the stereochemistry of the reaction, but they do not allow a firm assignment of the excited state(s) responsible for ring opening. Direct photolysis of these compounds also results in fragmentation to yield Z-2-butene (from cis-3 and 4) or E-2-butene (from trans-3 and 4) in addition to propyne or 2-butyne. The 2-butenes are formed with greater than 90% stereospecificity in all cases. The structures of the four 3-methyl-2,4-hexadiene isomers obtained from photolysis of 3 have been assigned on the basis of 1H NMR spectroscopy and the results of thermolysis of the two cyclobutene isomers. Keywords: cyclobutene, photolysis, Rydberg, orbital symmetry, far-UV, solution phase, UV spectra.
