Role of sulfide radical cations in electron transfer promoted molecular oxygenations at sulfur

The methylene blue, N-methylquinolinium tetrafluoroborate, and pyrylium-cation-sensitized photooxygenations of 5H, 7H-dibenzo[b,g] [1,5]dithiocin, 1, and 1,5-dithiacyclooctane, 2, have been investigated. The methylene blue sensitized reactions exhibit all of the characteristics of a singlet oxygen reaction including isotope effects for the formation of a hydroperoxysulfonium ylide and the ability of 1 and 2 to quench the time-resolved emission of singlet oxygen at 1270 nm. The product compositions in the N-methylquinolinium tetrafluoroborate and pyrylium-cation-sensitized reactions are dramatically different and are both different from that anticipated for the participation of singlet oxygen. This argues for different reaction mechanisms for all three sensitizers. However, both the quinolinium and pyrylium-cation-sensitized reactions display all of the characteristics of electron-transfer-initiated photooxygenations. Both sensitizers were quenched at nearly diffusion-limited rates by 1 and 2. Laser flash photolysis of mixtures of either sensitizer and 1 or 2 resulted in direct observation of the reduced sensitizer and the sulfide radical cation. In addition, electron-transfer reactions involving both sensitizers were shown to be exergonic. These results are consistent with the previously proposed outer sphere electron-transfer mechanism for N-methylquinolinium tetrafluoroborate and were used to argue for a new inner sphere mechanism for the pyrylium cation reactions.