Metal thiolate complexes can act as photosensitizers for the generation of singlet oxygen, quenchers of singlet oxygen, and they may undergo chemical reactions with singlet oxygen leading to oxidized thiolate ligands. This review covers all of the chemical reactions of thiolate ligands with singlet oxygen (through early 2021). Since some of these reactions are selfsensitized photooxidations, singlet oxygen generation by metal complexes is also discussed. Mechanistic features such as the effects of protic vs. aprotic conditions are presented and compared with the comparatively well-understood photooxidation of organic sulfides. In general, the total rate of singlet oxygen removal correlates with the nucleophilicity of the thiolate ligand which in turn can be influenced by the metal. Some interesting patterns of reactivity have been noted as a result of this survey: Metal thiolate complexes bearing arylthiolate ligands appear to exclusively produce sulfinate (metal-bound sulfone) products upon reaction with singlet oxygen. In contrast, metal thiolate complexes bearing alkylthiolate ligands may produce sulfinate and/or sulfenate (metal-bound sulfoxide) products. Several mechanistic pathways have been proposed for these reactions, but the exact nature of any intermediates remains unknown at this time.

We investigated the singlet oxygen quenching ability of several derivatives of trans-resveratrol which have been reported to have significant antioxidant ability, including photoprotective activity. We measured the total rate constants of singlet oxygen removal (k T ) by the methylated resveratrol derivative 1,3-dimethoxy-5-[(E)-2-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethenyl]benzene, and the partially methylated resveratrol derivatives 4-. A protic solvent system results in higher k T values, except for the completely methylated derivative. We also investigated the ability of transresveratrol to directly act as a photosensitizer (rather than via secondary photoproducts resulting from other primary photochemical reactions) for the production of singlet oxygen but found that neither resveratrol nor any of its derivatives are able to do so. We then studied the chemical reactions of the methylated derivative with singlet oxygen. The main pathway consists of a [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction involving the trans-double bond and the para-substituted benzene ring similar to what has been observed for trans-resveratrol. Unlike trans-resveratrol, the primary singlet oxygen product undergoes a second [4 + 2] cycloaddition with singlet oxygen leading to the formation of diendoperoxides. A second reactivity pathway for both trans-resveratrol and the methylated derivative leads to the formation of aldehydes via cleavage of a transient dioxetane.