Photoreaktionen von 1-Alkylbenztriazolen

The irradiation of benzotriazoles (cf. Scheme 2) with light of 225–325 nm in protic and in aromatic solvents was investigated. In aqueous 0.1N H₂SO₄ benzotriazole ( 5 ) and 1-methyl-benzotriazole ( 6 ) yielded 2-amino- and 2-methylaminophenol ( 25 and 26 ), respectively (Scheme 3). In 2-propanol 6 , 5-chloro- and 6-chloro-1-methyl-benzotriazole ( 14 and 15 ) were reduced to N-methylaniline, 4-chloro- and 3-chloro-N-methyl-aniline ( 27 , 28 and 29 ), respectively (Scheme 4). When the benzotriazoles were irradiated in aromatic solvents only C, C coupling products were observed (cf. Scheme 6 and Tables 1–4). It is of importance that 5-chloro-1-methyl-benztriazole ( 14 ) when decomposed photolytically in benzene solution yielded only 4-chloro-2-phenyl-N-methyl-aniline ( 49 ) and its 6-chloro isomer only 5-chloro-2-phenyl-N-methyl-aniline ( 50 ), i.e. the intervention of benzo-1H-azirine intermediates (e.g. 53 , Scheme 8) can be excluded. The substitution patterns which are observed when 6 is irradiated in toluene, anisole, fluoro-, chloro-, bromobenzene and benzonitrile (cf. Table 4) can best be explained by assuming that 6 , after loss of nitrogen, forms a diradical intermediate in the singlet state with highly zwitterionic character. 1-(1′-Alkenyl)-benzotriazoles (cf. Table 7) form on irradiation in cyclohexane solution indoles by intramolecular ring closure of the diradical intermediate and proton shift. After irradiation of 1-decyl-benzotriazole ( 8 ) in a glassy matrix at 77K a 7-line ESR. spectrum characteristic of a triplet radical is observed. This is in agreement with the fact that the lowest lying state of intermediates of type 2 (Scheme 1) should be a triplet state (cf. 21] 26]).