PHOTOCHEMISTRY OF PHOSPHATE-ESTERS - AN EFFICIENT METHOD FOR THE GENERATION OF ELECTROPHILES

The photochemical cleavage of benzyl diethyl phosphates, la-g, has been examined in zert-butyl alcohol, which produces the corresponding benzyl tert-butyl ether as the major solvolysis product upon direct irradiation. The multiplicity of the reactive excited state has been established as the singlet state. Evidence favoring an intermediate benzyl cation-phosphate ion pair formed from photofragmentation includes oxygen-18 scrambling, racemization of chiral benzyl phosphates, and substituent effects on the rate of reaction. The existence of an electrophilic intermediate is further supported by a linear free energy relationship for the rate of disappearance of 1, kdis, with Hammett a σ, which gave a ρ value of -0.90 and for the rate of appearance of 2, kapp, a Hammett ρ value of -0.97. Possible mechanisms including an electron transfer either before or after homolysis or simple heterolysis of the ester bond are evaluated. © 1990, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.