Photosensitized dissociation of di-tert-butyl peroxide. Energy transfer to a repulsive excited state

Energy transfer from a variety of aromatic hydrocarbons and ketones to di-tert-butyl peroxide has been examined by using nanosecond laser flash photolysis techniques. Triplet energy transfer to the peroxide leads to its efficient cleavage into two tert-butoxy radicals. Representative rate constants for triplet quenching in benzene at 25/sup 0/C are 7.9 x 10/sup 6/, 3.4 x 10/sup 6/, and 7.0 x 10/sup 4/M/sup -1/s/sup -1/ for p-methoxypropiophenone, benzophenone, and benz(a)anthracene, respectively. The rate of transfer for p-methoxypropiophenone (E/sub T/ = 72.5 kcal/mol) is approximately temperature independent; for lower energy sensitizers ca. 0.17 kcal/mol activation energy is required for each kilocalorie per mole decrease in triplet energy. No evidence indicating exciplex intermediacy was found. A model for energy transfer to a repulsive state of the peroxide is proposed in which no activation energy is required if the sensitizer meets the energy requirements at the 0-0 equilibrium distance. For sensitizers of lower triplet energy, energy transfer to a repulsive state is proposed to occur from a thermally activated ground state having a greater than equilibrium oxygen-oxygen bond length. The same mechanism may apply in other systems where the acceptor lacks low-lying excited states. A few rate constants for the quenching of singlet sensitizers have also been determined by using fluorescence techniques.