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The facile production of acid sensitive aldehydes and ketones via photochemical intramolecular &hydrogen atom transfer in 1-alkoxy-and l-(benzyloxy)-9,10-anthraquinones (1) was investigated. Irradiation of 1 in argon purged methanol generates the primary photoproducts, l-(RCH(OMe)O)-and l-(ArCH(OMe)O)-9,1O-anthrahydroquinones (2), respectively. Upon exposure to air, the intermediate anthrahydroquinone is rapidly converted to the corresponding aldehyde and l-hydroxy-9,lO-anthraquinone (3), which can be recycled. Aldehydes containing an acetal or ketal were prepared in high yields using this photoprocess. Apparent rate constants for the photodemethylation of l-methoxy-2-X-9,lO-anthraquinones (X = H, Me, Et, Pr, Bu, i-Bu, and benzyl) were measured and found to vary by a factor of IO separating the slowest anthraquinone (X = H) and the fastest (X = benzyl), indicating a strong dependency upon the size of the substituent at the 2-position.These rate constants are ascribed to equilibrium populations of conformers in the geometry required for reaction in the n,n* triplet state.

A substituted anthraquinone (AQ), previously shown to photochemically generate benzaldehyde in methanol solution, was attached to a commercially available resin via an 11 carbon tether and an amide bond. Photolysis of the polymer-bound AQ with visible or 350 nm UV light resulted in the formation of benzaldehyde in yields of 50-55% as determined by HPLC. The phenolic positions in the polymer were then alkylated using benzyl bromide and 1-iodo-3-(4-nitrophenyl)propane in a coupling reaction with K(2)CO(3) as a base and a solution-phase proton shuttle. Photolysis of these alkylated polymers resulted in the formation of benzaldehyde (54-89%) and 3-(4-nitrophenyl)-propanal (58-67%). The yields of both aldehydes dropped considerably with subsequent realkylation and photolysis, and the polymer beads began to show signs of deterioration. This is the first time that aldehydes have been made photochemically on a solid-supported phase.

The cyclopropylmethyl and (trans-2-phenylcyclopropyl)methyl radical clocks were used to estimate the lifetimes of triplet state biradicals formed from substituted 1-alkoxy-9,10-anthraquinones by photoexcitation and subsequent 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer. Irradiation (350 nm) of 1-(cyclopropylmethoxy)-2-methyl-9,10-anthraquinone (1cp) in argon-purged methanol generated the primary anthrahydroquinone product (2). Upon exposure to air, 2 was rapidly converted to cyclopropanecarboxaldehyde and 1-hydroxy-2-X-9,10-anthraquinone (3). In contrast, irradiation of 1-{(trans-2-phenylcyclopropyl)methoxy}-2-benzyl-9,10-anthraquinone (1pcp) under similar conditions produced only small amounts of 3 and the corresponding aldehyde, trans-(2-phenylcyclopropyl)carboxaldehyde. In addition, products resulting from rearrangement of the 1,5-biradical to a homoallylic 1,8-biradical were also obtained. Using the known rate constant for the rearrangement of the phenylcyclopropylmethyl radical to the homoallylic radical and the observed product ratio, lifetimes of approximately 1−2 ns were estimated for 1,5-biradicals from these anthraquinones which are about an order of magnitude shorter than those reported for triplet state biradicals derived from structurally related benzophenones and acetophenones. The short lifetimes of these biradicals are attributed to the facile formation of a zwitterion which results from an intramolecular electron transfer from one radical site, which serves as electron donor, to the other radical site, which is a semianthraquinone and therefore serves as a good electron acceptor. If either the electron-donating or electron-accepting site is absent in the biradical, zwitterion formation is not observed and coupling of the biradical occurs resulting in a longer lifetime.

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