TY - JOUR A1 - Knorr, Johannes A1 - Sokkar, Pandian A1 - Schott, Sebastian A1 - Costa, Paolo A1 - Thiel, Walter A1 - Sander, Wolfram A1 - Sanchez-Garcia, Elsa A1 - Nuernberger, Patrick T1 - Competitive solvent-molecule interactions govern primary processes of diphenylcarbene in solvent mixtures JF - Nature Communications N2 - Photochemical reactions in solution often proceed via competing reaction pathways comprising intermediates that capture a solvent molecule. A disclosure of the underlying reaction mechanisms is challenging due to the rapid nature of these processes and the intricate identification of how many solvent molecules are involved. Here combining broadband femtosecond transient absorption and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics simulations, we show for one of the most reactive species, diphenylcarbene, that the decision-maker is not the nearest solvent molecule but its neighbour. The hydrogen bonding dynamics determine which reaction channels are accessible in binary solvent mixtures at room temperature. In-depth analysis of the amount of nascent intermediates corroborates the importance of a hydrogen-bonded complex with a protic solvent molecule, in striking analogy to complexes found at cryogenic temperatures. Our results show that adjacent solvent molecules take the role of key abettors rather than bystanders for the fate of the reactive intermediate. KW - Reaction kinetics and dynamics KW - Photochemistry Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-165954 VL - 7 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kim, E. A1 - Christl, Manfred A1 - Kochl, J. K. T1 - Charge-Transfer Cycloaddition of Homobenzvalene with Tetracyanoethylene N2 - The transient yellow color observed in the cycloaddition of homobenzvalene (HB) with tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) is associated with the charge-transfer complex [HB, TCNE). The deliberate photoexcitation of [HB,TCNE) affords a mixture of charge-transfer cycloadducts (1, 2, and 3) that differs from that obtained in thermal cycloaddition. The relationship of {HB t TCNE•) radical-ion pair (as the critical reactive intermediate in charge-transfer cycloaddition) to the activation process for thermal cycloaddition is discussed. KW - Organische Chemie KW - Electron transfer KW - photochemical KW - Radical-ion pair KW - Photochemistry Y1 - 1990 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-58537 ER -