The nanosecond laser flash photolysis technique has been used to study the reactivity of 1,2-aceanthrylenedione (1) triplet towards phenols. Using acetonitrile as solvent, the quenching rate constant k q ranged from 3.3 x 10(5) L mol-1s-1 (phenol) to 1.3 x 10(7) L mol-1s-1 (4hydroxyphenol). Phenols with electron donating substituents were more reactive. The kinetic isotope effect (kH/kD) observed for the quenching of 1 with 4-methoxyphenol was 1.5. The Hammett plot for the reaction of the triplet of 1 with phenols gave a reaction constant rho = 1.04 in acetonitrile solution. The low value for the quenching rate constant measured for this triplet with 1,3-cyclohexadiene (k q=2.0 x 10(4) L mol-1s-1) and the diffusion controlled quenching rate constant obtained for beta-carotene suggest that the energy of the lowest triplet state for 1,2-aceanthrylenedione is located between 88 and 219 kJ mol-1.
laser flash photolysis; diketones; hydrogen abstraction; triplet state
