The photolysis of dichlorotriphenylbismuth(v) in chloroform

Abstract

Under 254 nm irradiation in chloroform, Bi(C₆H₅)₃Cl₂ reacts to yield HBiCl₄ and H₂BiCl₅, in contrast to its behavior in acetonitrile, in which bismuth metal appears to be the eventual product, unless anhydrous HCl is present, in which case H₂BiCl₅ is also formed. The photolysis in CHCl₃ is not significantly solvent-initiated. The rate depends directly on the light intensity absorbed by the metal complex, and the quantum yield is 0.026. In CCl₄ a portion of the reaction occurs through absorption of light by the solvent.