Article

The photosolvolysis of 1- and 2-hydroxy-9-fluorenols 4-6 has been studied in aqueous solution. All of these 9-fluorenols photosolvolyze efficiently in 1:1 H2O-CH3OH, to give the corresponding methyl ether products in high chemical and quantum yields. Whereas the photosolvolysis of the parent 9-fluorenol (2, R = H) is known to proceed via the very short-lived and formally ground-state antiaromatic 9-fluorenyl cation (1, R = H), the photosolvolysis of 1-hydroxy-9-fluorenol (4) proceeds via a much longer-lived (approximately = 5-10 s) fluorenyl quinone methide 9, which is trappable by ethyl vinyl ether via a [4+2] cycloaddition reaction to give a chroman derivative. Interestingly, 2-hydroxy-9-fluorenol (5) photosolvolyzes via a very short-lived intermediate with similar lifetimes as observed for the 9-fluorenyl cation (1, R = H), although a corresponding fluorenyl quinone methide intermediate is accessible for this compound. This study demonstrates that the mechanism of photosolvolysis of these types of compounds can be dramatically altered when an aryl hydroxy group is present.Key words: photosolvolysis, 9-fluorenyl cation, quinone methide, carbocation, antiaromatic.