Elements of Organic Photochemistry

Description

In the past fifteen years organic photochemistry has undergone a greater change and has stimulated more interest than probably any other area of organic chemistry. What has resulted is a population explosion, that is, an ever-increasing number of organic chemists are publishing important and exciting research papers in this area. Professor Bryce-Smith in the introduc­ tion to a recent volume of the Specialist Periodical Report (Photochemistry, Volume 6), which reviews the photochemical literature in yearly intervals, states that "the flood of photochemical literature is showing some signs of abatement from the high levels of two or three years ago .... " However, Volume 6 of that periodical contains 764 pages of excellent but very concise reviews. We expect the development of the mechanistic aspects of organic photo­ chemistry to continue at the present pace as new methods are developed to probe in increasing detail and shorter time scales the photochemical dynamics of both old and new photoreactions. Since photochemistry is no longer the sole domain of the specialist, it is relatively safe to predict a dramatic increase in the near future of the synthetic and industrial uses of organic photo­ chemistry . Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Basic Photophysical and Photochemical Concepts....Pages 1-18 Photochemical Techniques and the Photodimerization of Anthracene and Related Compounds....Pages 19-74 Photochemical Techniques and the Photochemistry of Ketones....Pages 75-133 The Photochemistry of Simple Carbonyl Compounds: Type I Cleavage and Oxetane Formation....Pages 135-204 The Triplet State....Pages 205-266 Electronic Energy Transfer....Pages 267-305 Dienone and Enone Photochemistry (1–3) ....Pages 307-335 The Di-π-Methane Photorearrangement....Pages 337-365 Photochemical Cis-Trans and Valence Isomerization of Olefins....Pages 367-421 Photodimerization and Photocycloaddition Reactions Yielding Cyclobutanes....Pages 423-484 Photoelimination, Photoaddition, and Photosubstitution....Pages 485-548 An Introduction to Photobiology....Pages 549-576 Back Matter....Pages 577-586