[reaction: see text] Several lactones were examined to test the reactivity of carbon-centered radicals toward oxygen. Notably, the radical derived from 2-coumaranone (4) is unreactive toward oxygen, while 2-cuomaranone itself shows enhanced reactivity toward hydrogen abstraction by alkoxyl radicals. We propose that five parameters influence diminished reactivity toward oxygen, i.e., (a) benzylic resonance stabilization, (b) unpaired spin delocalization on oxygen, (c) favorable stereoelectronic effects, (d) electron-withdrawing effects, and (e) steric effects.
Resonance-stabilized radicals containing indane, indene, and fluorenyl moieties exhibit attenuated reactivity toward oxygen. Rate constants of approximately 10(5) M(-1) s(-1) were observed for the most stabilized radicals. The dependence of k(OX) (rate constant for radical trapping by oxygen) on the corresponding bond dissociation energies revealed that stereoelectronic effects are more important than steric effects in determining the low radical reactivity with oxygen. Scavenging by the nitroxide TEMPO was also examined, and revealed that in this case steric effects are more important than in the case of oxygen. The rate constants for the hydrogen abstraction by cumyloxyl and tert-butoxyl radicals generated thermally and photochemically have been determined in benzene, and were in the range of ca. (1-13) x 10(6) M(-1) s(-1), showing that benzylic stabilization has a modest effect on substrate reactivity as a hydrogen donor toward alkoxyl radicals.
The mechanistic aspects of the photochemistry of several iminosulfonate photoacid generators (PAGs) have been studied based on product analysis, nanosecond laser flash photolysis, and determination of acid generation efficiencies. Our findings support a competition between homolytic and heterolytic N-O dissociation mechanisms. By measuring the efficiencies of acid generation for each PAG in the presence and absence of an ion quencher, we were able to roughly quantify the degree of branching between heterolytic and homolytic photocleavage pathways for each PAG. The p-toluenesulfonyloxyl radical was detected upon laser flash photolysis of several PAGs and was found to have a lambda(max) at 540 nm. By quenching the 540 nm transient with a variety of reactive species, the rate constants for reaction of the p-toluenesulfonyloxyl radical with these substrates were determined. The p-toluenesulfonyloxyl radical is shown to be a highly reactive species, which undergoes rapid hydrogen transfer and is a powerful oxidizer.
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