Solution and crystal lattice effects on the photochemistry of 6-substituted cyclohexenones(1)(,)(2)

The photochemistry of 13 4,4-diphenylcyclohexenones, substituted at carbon-6, was investigated in solution and in the crystalline state. The stereoselectivity was of particular interest. In the solution photochemistry of C-6 monosubstituted enones in benzene, there was a unique preference for migration of the cis-phenyl group with formation of bicyclo[3.1.0]hexanone photoproducts, with the original 6-substituent having an endo configuration at carbon-3 of the product. In methanol the reaction was diverted to afford 3,4-diphenylcyclohex-2-enes understood as arising from a hydrogen-bonded zwitterionic intermediate. The solid-state photochemistry was also investigated. There was a dramatic absence of the 3,4-diphenylcyclohex-2-ene products in accord with the absence of the hydrogen bonding encountered in methanol. Further, the solid-state reactivity correlated with a vector analysis using X-ray atomic coordinates. This established that the migrating phenyl group required an orientation facing the enone beta-carbon. While the interesting preference for the cis-endo migration was not intuitively predicted, ab initio computations on the alternative phenyl-bridged triplet intermediates did lead to an understanding of the selectivity.