The stereo- and regioselectivity of triplet-sensitised radical reactions of furanone derivatives have been investigated. Furanones 7a,b were excited to the (3)pipi* state by triplet energy transfer from acetone. Intramolecular hydrogen abstraction then occurred such that hydrogen was transferred from the tetrahydropyran to the beta position of the furanone moiety. Radical combination of the tetrahydropyranyl and the oxoallyl radicals led to the final products 8a,b. In the intramolecular reaction, overall, a pyranyl group adds to the alpha position of the furanone. The effect of conformation was first investigated with compounds 9a,b carrying an additional substituent on the tether between the furanone and pyranyl moiety. Further information on the effect of conformation and the relative configuration at the pyranyl anomeric centre and the furanone moiety was obtained from the transformations of the glucose derivatives 12, 14, 17 and 18. Radical abstraction occurred at the anomeric centre and at the 5'-position of the glucosyl moiety. Computational studies of the hydrogen-abstraction step were carried out with model structures. The activation barriers of this step for different stereoisomers and the abstraction at the anomeric centre and at the 6'-position of the tetrahydropyranyl moiety were calculated. The results of this investigation are in accordance with experimental observations. Furthermore, they reveal that the reactivity and regioselectivity are mainly determined in the hydrogen-abstraction step. Intramolecular hydrogen abstraction (almost simultaneous electron and proton transfer) in (3)pipi* excited furanones only takes place under restricted structural conditions in a limited number of conformations that are defined by the relative configuration of the substrates. It is observed that in the biradical intermediate, back-hydrogen transfer occurs leading to the starting compound. In the case of glucose derivatives, this reaction led to epimerisation at the anomeric centre.

Using photochemical electron transfer, N,N-dimethylnaphthylamine derivatives are added to α,β-unsaturated carboxylates. The addition takes place exclusively in the α-position of electron-deficient alkenes and mainly in the 4-position of N,N-dimethylnaphthalen-1-amine. A minor regioisomer results from the addition in the 5-position of this naphthylamine. A physicochemical study reveals that the fluorescence quenching of N,N-dimethylnaphthalen-1-amine is diffusion-controlled and that the back electron transfer is highly efficient. Therefore no transformation is observed at lower concentrations. To overcome this limitation and to induce an efficient transformation, minor amounts of water or another proton donor as well as an excess of the naphthylamine derivative are necessary. A mechanism involving a contact radical ion pair is discussed. Isotopic labeling experiments reveal that no hydrogen is directly transferred between the substrates. The hydrogen transfer to the furanone moiety observed in the overall reaction therefore results from an exchange with the reaction medium. An electrophilic oxoallyl radical generated from the furanone reacts with the naphthylamine used in excess. Concerning some mechanistic details, the reaction is compared with radical and electrophilic aromatic substitutions. The transformation was carried out with a variety of electron-deficient alkenes. Sterically hindered furanone derivatives are less reactive under standard conditions. In a first experiment, such a compound was transformed using heterogeneous electron transfer photocatalysis with TiO(2).

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