Inter- and innermolecular reactions of chloro(phenyl)carbene

Supramolecular photolyses of 3-chloro-3-phenyl-3H-diazirine (8) were performed within cyclodextrin (CyD) hosts to determine whether these toroidal inclusion compounds could alter the reactivity of the ensuing carbene reaction intermediate, chloro(phenyl)carbene (9). Remarkably, no intramolecular products stemming from carbene 9 could be detected. Instead, modified CyDs were formed via so-called innermolecular reactions. Hence, diazirine 8 was photolyzed in various conventional solvents to gauge the intermolecular reactivity of carbene 9. Relevant results were used to rationalize the CyD innermolecular reaction products.