Photochemical reaction of alcohols—II : Irradiation of aromatic alcohols

The UV irradiation of aromatic alcohols leads to the formation of several products: carbonyl compounds, ethers, α-glycols and tetra-aryl-1,4-dioxanes.The photoformation of α-glycols is qualitatively and quantitatively compared to the photoreduction of the carbonyl compounds. It is noteworthy that the glycols are formed with a stereochemistry very different depending upon whether the substrate is an alcohol or a carbonyl compound.The structure, configuration and conformation of the 1-4-dixoanes obtained are studies as well as their origin.Other aspects of the photochemistry of the alcohols are analyzed using hydroperoxides as model substrates.