Wavelength dependent photochemistry of an iron–arene organometallic photoinitiator: a quantitative study of the photoreactivity†

Abstract

The quantitative photochemistry of the widely used cationic photoinitiator complex, [CpFe(η⁶-isopropylbenzene)]PF₆, has been investigated in several different solvents as a function of exciting wavelength in the 355–683 nm region; the photoefficiency results reveal that the system exhibits a strong wavelength dependence following excitation into its ligand field (LF) manifold and that the photochemistry does not occur solely from the lowest lying LF triplet excited state.