Laser Flash Photolysis Study of the Reaction Mechanism in the Photochromism of 1-(Acyloxy)-2-methoxyanthraquinones

Abstract

Nanosecond laser flash photolysis has been used to study the primary processes in the photochromic reaction of five O-acylic derivatives of 1-hydroxy-2-methoxyanthraquinone with methyl (I), tolyl (II), phenyl (III), ethoxyl (IV), and diethylamino (V) groups in the migrating acyl. The triplet−triplet absorption spectra of the reactive triplet states of quinones IV and V were detected, and the rate constants of the primary photochemical step were measured. The temperature dependence of the rate constants of acyl migration in the triplet states of quinones IV and V was studied, and the Arrhenius parameters were determined. The rate constants of thermal acyl migration and their Arrhenius parameters were measured for compounds I−V. It was found that migrant nature significantly influences the activation energy of both thermal and photochemical reactions of acyl migration. The activation energy of thermal migration increases from 37.9 ± 0.2 kJ/mol for compound I up to 66.5 ± 0.7 kJ/mol for compound V. The photochemical process is characterized by considerably lower values of the activation energy (15.9 ± 0.8 and 26.0 ± 1.7 kJ/mol for compounds IV and V, respectively). It was confirmed in the present work that photochemical migration of acyl groups is an adiabatic process occurring on the triplet potential energy surface.