This paper describes a convenient protocol for the regioselective sulfonylation of alpha-chelatable alcohols. Typically, the reaction of alpha-heterosubstituted alcohols with 1 equiv of p-TsCl and 1 equiv of Et(3)N in the presence of 2 mol % of Bu(2)SnO leads to rapid, regioselective, and exclusive monotosylation. The pK(a) of the amine was correlated to the reaction rate. A plausible mechanism for this reaction has been proposed on the basis of (119)Sn NMR studies.

3',5'-dimethoxybenzoin (DMB) is an important photoremovable protecting group. The primary photoreactions of DMB acetate and fluoride following photoexcitation by a subpicosecond laser flash were investigated by pump-probe spectroscopy. The primary photoproduct is identified as a preoxetane biradical intermediate that decays by different pathways depending on solvent polarity. In polar solvents (acetonitrile, water), the biradical decays by releasing acetate or fluoride with a lifetime of about 2 ns. Thus, DMB is an excellent protecting group for the investigation of fast processes such as protein folding.

The photochemical behavior of 2-halo-substituted 1,3-diarylpropan-1,3-dione strongly depends on the nature of the halogen atom bonded and the presence of electron-donor groups on the phenyl ring. In the case of 2-chloro-1,3-diphenylpropan-1,3-dione and 1-(3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-3-phenylpropan-1,3-dione, cyclization to flavones was the sole reaction pathway, whereas in the case of 2-chloro-1,3-di(4-methoxyphenyl)propan-1,3-dione, only products derived from alpha-cleavage were observed. 2-Fluoro derivatives of 1,3-diarylpropan-1,3-diones were photostable; on the other hand, 2-chloro-2-fluoro derivates resulted in 3-fluoroflavones.

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