The Photocyclodimers of 2,3‐Dihydro‐2,2‐dimethyl‐4H‐pyran‐4‐one

On irradiation (350 nm) in benzene solution, dihydropyranone 3 affords predominantly (75%) the cis‐anti‐cis HH‐dimer 4 , but in smaller amounts (12%) also dimer 5 , wherein one of the six‐membered rings is trans‐fused to the (central) cyclobutane ring. The constitution and configuration of 5 was fully elucidated by NMR‐analysis. On contact with SiO₂, 5 isomerizes quantitatively to the cis‐anti‐cis HT‐dimer 7 , the structure of which was established by X‐ray crystal‐structure determination.