Irradiation of dimethylpyridine vapors (2-5 Torr) at 254 nm results in the formation of two sets of isomerization products. One set, formed in the larger yield, is substantially quenched when the irradiations are carried out in the presence of 15-21 Torr of nitrogen and is not formed when the irradiations are carried out with light of λ > 290 nm. In addition, a second set of reactions, which involve the interconversion of 2,3-and 2,5-dimethylpyridines, is enhanced by the addition of nitrogen, and these reactions are the only photoisomerization reactions observed when the irradiations are carried out with light of λ > 290 nm. In addition to the photoisomerizations, four of the dimethylpyridines also undergo demethylation to yield monomethylpyridines, and 2,6-dimethylpyridine undergoes methylation to yield a trimethylpyridine product. A variety of crossover experiments confirmed that the photoisomerizations are intramolecular. Based on the major phototransposition products, the six dimethylpyridines can be divided into two triads. Interconversion of the three members of each triad results in the major phototransposition products. These intra-triad interconversions are suggested to occur via 2,6-bonding, originating in a vibrationally excited S 2 (π,π*) state of the dimethylpyridine, followed by nitrogen migration and rearomatization. This allows nitrogen to insert within each carbon-carbon bond. Phototransposition of 2,6-dideuterio-3,5-dimethylpyridine to a mixture of 5,6-dideuterio-2,4-dimethylpyridine and 3,4-dideuterio-2,5-dimethylpyridine is consistent with this mechanism. In addition to these intra-triad reactions, 2,5-dimethylpyridine, a member of triad 1, was observed to interconvert with 2,3-dimethylpyridine, a member of triad 2. These inter-triad reactions are suggested to occur via interconverting Dewar pyridine intermediates, formed from the triplet state of the dimethylpyridines. These Dewar pyridine intermediates were also observed by 1 H NMR spectroscopy after irradiation of the dimethylpyridines in CD 3 CN at -30 °C.

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Direct irradiation of 1-methyl-4-phenylpyrazole (2) in methanol results in regiospecific phototransposition to 1-methyl-4-phenylimidazole (4) and in photocleavage to (E)/(Z)-3-(N-methylamino)-2-phenylpropenenitrile (5) and (E)/(Z)-2-(N-methylamino)-1-phenylethenyl isocyanide (6). Deuterium labeling confirms that the phototransposition occurs via the P(4) permutation pathway. Separate experiments show that 5 and 6 undergo (Z) --> (E) isomerization and photocyclization to imidazole 4. Quantum yields for these reactions show that the sequence 2 --> 6 --> 4 is a major pathway for the P(4) phototransposition of 2 --> 4. Isocyanides were also detected as intermediates in the P(4) phototransposition of a variety of other pyrazoles confirming the generality of this pathway in pyrazole photochemistry. Direct irradiation of 1-methyl-5-phenylpyrazole (3) resulted in the formation of 1-methyl-5-phenylimidazole (7), 1-methyl-2-phenylimidazole (8), and 1-methyl-4-phenylimidazole (4). Deuterium labeling revealed that these products were formed by P(4), P(6), and P(7) permutation pathways, respectively. (E)/(Z)-3-(N-methylamino)-3-phenylpropenenitrile (9) and (E)/(Z)-2-(N-methylamino)-2-phenylethenyl isocyanide (10) photocleavage products were also formed in this reaction. Irradiation of 3 in furan solvent did not result in phototransposition but led to the formation of endo and exo adducts formed by Diels-Alder reaction of furan with 4-phenyl-5-methyl-1,5-diazabicyclo[2.1.0]pent-2-ene. This constitutes the first direct evidence for the formation of a 1,5-diazabicyclo[2.1.0]hex-2-ene from photolysis of a pyrazole and is consistent with the electrocyclic ring closure-heteroatom migration mechanism suggested for the P(6) and P(7) phototranspositions.

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5-Phenylisoxazole (4) and 4-phenylisoxazole (22) underwent phototransposition to 5-phenyloxazole (5) and 4-phenyloxazole (24) respectively. Labeling with deuterium or methyl confirmed that these phototranspositions occurred via the P 4 pathway which involves only interchange of the N2 and C3 ring position. Thus, 4-deuterio-5-phenylisoxazole (4-4d), 4-methyl-5-phenylisoxazole (10), and 5-methyl-4-phenylisoxazole (23) phototransposed to 4-deuterio-5-phenyloxazole (5-4d), 4-methyl-5-phenyloxazole (11), and 5-methyl-4-phenyloxazole (25) respectively. In addition to phototransposition, isoxazoles 4, 10, and 23 also underwent photo-ring cleavage to yield benzoylacetonitrile (9), α-benzoylpropionitrile (15), and aceto-α-phenylacetonitrile (26) respectively. Irradiation of 5-phenyl-3-(trifluoromethyl)isoxazole (16) in acetonitrile led to 5-phenyl-2-(trifluoromethyl)oxazole (17), the P 4 phototransposition product. Irradiation of 16 in methanol led to a substantial decrease in the yield of 17 and to the formation of a mixture of (E) and (Z)-2-methoxy-2-(trifluoromethyl)-3-benzoylaziridines 18a and 18b.