The photolytic decay of a library of dibenzylic sulfites is currently being monitored.  Each dibenzylic sulfite was synthesized by reacting two equivalents of para-substituted benzyl alcohol with one equivalent of thionyl chloride for 5 hours in dichloromethane.  Varying the substituent on the ortho-, meta-, and para-positions of the benzyl alcohol has produced a library of compounds for analysis.  Sulfites were exposed to UV radiation in a Srinivasan�Griffin�Rayonet Photochemical Reactor in various solvents, and their rates of decay monitored by 1H-NMR.  The decay for each dibenzylic sulfite was then evaluated with respect to Swain and Lupton's field constant, F.  Work thus far has shown that rate of photolytic decay can vary depending on the identity and placement of the substituent off of benzene.  Furthermore, it has been observed that the identity of the solvent can affect both the coupling constants for starting sulfite and rate of photolytic decay.

Photolytic decay of dibenzylic sulfites

241st National Meeting (2011)

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