Fast transient absorption spectroscopy of the early events in photoexcited chiral benzophenone–naphthalene dyads

Influence of the Linking Bridge on the Photoreactivity of Benzophenone-Thymine Conjugates

Benzophenone (BP) is present in a variety of bioactive molecules. This chromophore is able to photosensitize DNA damage, where one of the most relevant BP/DNA interactions occurs with thymine (Thy). In view of the complex photoreactivity previously observed for dyads containing BP covalently linked to thymidine, the aim of this work is to investigate whether appropriate changes in the nature of the spacer could modulate the intramolecular BP/Thy photoreactivity, resulting in an enhanced selectivity. Accordingly, the photobehavior of a series of dyads derived from BP and Thy, separated by linear linkers of different length, has been investigated by steady-state photolysis, as well as femtosecond and nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. Irradiation of the dyads led to photoproducts arising from formal hydrogen abstraction or Paterno-Büchi (PB) photoreaction, with a chemoselectivity that was clearly dependent on the nature of the linking bridge; moreover, the PB process occurred with complete regio- and stereoselectivity. The overall photoreactivity increased with the length of the spacer and correlated well with the rate constants estimated from the BP triplet lifetimes. A reaction mechanism explaining these results is proposed, where the key features are the strain associated with the reactive conformations and the participation of triplet exciplexes.

Photochemistry of a Chiral Salen Aluminum Complex in Nonconventional Solvents: Use of Imidazolium Ionic Liquids and Chiral Alcohols

The photochemistry of a chiral (salen)aluminum(III) chloride complex has been studied in nonconventional solvents, namely, two imidazolium ionic liquids differing on the hydrophobicity (hydrophilic BF(4)(-) or hydrophobic PF(6)(-) counter anions) and in chiral 2-butanols (R and S). Upon 355 nm laser excitation, the same transient absorption spectrum (with some solvatochromic shift in lambda(max)) was recorded in all cases and assigned to the (salen)Al(II) complex with radicaloid character at the metal atom. This intermediate arises from the photoinduced homolytic cleavage of the apical Al-Cl bond. The half-life of this radicaloid Al(II) species varies depending on the solvent, indicating that its reactivity is governed by the nature of the ionic liquid and also on the R or S configuration of the chiral alcohol.