To address the scarcity
of generally applicable photochemical routes
to allenylidenes in solution, phenanthrene-based sources have been
investigated. Specifically, the syntheses of 1-vinylidene-1a,9b-dihydro-1H-cyclopropa[l]phenanthrene, 1-(2-phenylvinylidene)-1a,9b-dihydro-1H-cyclopropa[l]phenanthrene, and 1-(2-methylvinylidene)-1a,9b-dihydro-1H-cyclopropa[l]phenanthrene, photochemical
precursors to propadienylidene, 3-phenylpropadienylidene, and 3-methylpropadienylidene
have been carried out. Photolysis of these new precursors in olefin
traps and benzene afforded the expected cyclopropane adducts of the
corresponding allenylidenes. Quantum chemical calculations show that
the ground state of all three carbenes is a singlet with a singlet–triplet
gap of ∼29, 30, and 33 kcal/mol for propadienylidene, 3-phenylpropadienylidene,
and 3-methylpropadienylidene, respectively.