The “excited state C–C bond cleavage–luminescence” phenomenon of a biphenyl-substituted methylenecyclopropane triggered by intermolecular energy transfer from triplet benzophenone

Abstract

Existence of the “excited state C–C bond cleavage–luminescence” phenomenon was demonstrated by utilizing intermolecular energy transfer from the excited-triplet benzophenone to 2,2-di(4-biphenylyl)-1-methylenecyclopropane (3). An excellent linear relationship between the intensity of the excitation laser light and that of luminescence clearly shows that formation of the corresponding excited trimethylenemethane biradical ³4˙˙* proceeds via a one-photon route.