Rearrangement of a 2-Methylenecyclobutanone Derivative Triggered by Photoinduced Electron Transfer:  An Unprecedented Oxa Analogue of the Tetramethyleneethane Radical Cation

Abstract

On irradiation of p-chloranil (CA), 2,2-bis(p-methoxyphenyl)-3,3-dimethyl-4-methylenecyclobutanone (1) gives 2,2-bis(p-methoxyphenyl)-4-isopropylidenecyclobutanone (2), whereas 2 affords a CA adduct (4), suggesting that a novel rearrangement of 1 to give 2 occurs irreversibly via intermediate 3*+, a radical cation variant of an unprecedented oxa analogue of tetramethyleneethane.