Radical ions and photochemical charge transfer phenomena Part 32. Cyclobutane and cyclopropane ring opening reactions by photoinduced electron transfer - a new ring expansion method

Abstract

A new reductive ring cleavage reaction, induced by photoinduced electron transfer (PET), is applied to three- and four-membered ring systems containing a carbonyl function in the α position to the strained ring. Introducing substituents which stabilize radical intermediates changes the outcome of the reaction to yield linearly fused ring systems that may be of interest in natural product synthesis.