Abstract
Singlet oxygen, generated chemically or photogenetically, reacts with biadamantylidene to give the corresponding dioxetane and epoxide only. When methylene blue (MB) or meso‐tetraphenylporphin (m‐TPP) is used as sensitizer the normal reaction course occurs giving dioxetane as the preponderant product in 2‐propanol, ethyl acetate, acetone, pinacolone, methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride and benzene, although in the last two solvents some 10–25% of epoxide is formed. When erythrosin and rose bengal (RB) are used, epoxide becomes the main product (70–95%). Epoxide does not derive from chemical reaction with the solvent. Pinacolone, for example, is not oxidized to t‐butyl acetate.
The rose bengal reaction involves both singlet oxygen and radicals, since diazabicyclooctane (DABCO) and di‐t‐butyl‐p‐cresol interfere with the oxidation. A mechanistic scheme is proposed in which sensitizer and oxygen combine to produce sensitizer radical cation and superoxide radical anion. Subsequently, hydroperoxy radical, deriving from superoxide, reacts with substrate to give epoxide and hydroxy radicals. The latter adds to substrate to give a new radical which captures triplet oxygen. Epoxide is formed by loss of hydroperoxy radical and the chain starts anew. The dioxetane is formed separately either by [2+2]‐cycloaddition or stepwise addition.