In Part I, Flash Vacuum Thermolysis' (FVT) was presented as a routinely available technique, with a unique preparative potential for several, often theoretically interesting, classes of organic compounds and also as an aid in mechanistic research, e.g. for describing the thermal energy surface of a species*. Here, our FVT results, obtained using specific classes of compounds, are related to selected literature data and an attempt is made to distinguish general FVT reaction patterns from the growing number of publications. In the conclusion, the significance that the FVT method presently has, or may acquire, in various applications, is discussed.
Isobenzofuran and related o-quinoid structuresThe quantitative formation of isobenzofuran 19**, by retro Diels-Alder reaction of 1,4-epoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene 18', is an early example of the preparation by FVT of a highly reactive compound with marked synthetic applicability3. FVT has been used in the preparation of many other reactive intermediates via retro Diels-Alder reactions4.CH 3