DODECACARBONYL TRIIRON, AN EFFICIENT CATALYST FOR PHOTOCHEMICAL ISOMERIZATION OF UNSATURATED ALCOHOLS, ETHERS AND ESTERS TO THEIR CORRESPONDING CARBONYL-COMPOUNDS, ENOL ETHERS AND ESTERS

Photochemical isomerization of unsaturated alcohols to their corresponding saturated aldehydes and ketones can be carried out efficiently by irradiation at wavelengths > 560 nm in n-hexane at 25-30-degrees-C in the presence of catalytic amounts of dodecacarbonyl triiron. Unsaturated ethers and esters are likewise converted into their corresponding enol ethers and esters in moderate to high yields. Results of the reactions of benzylideneacetoneiron tricarbonyl with unsaturated compounds support the previously postulated mechanism in which the Fe(CO)3 moiety is the active species in the catalyses of the carbon-carbon double bond migration.