Photochemical reactions in crystals can show excellent selectivity, thanks to the rigid environment. But the development and applications of reactions in crystals has suffered due to a lack of mechanistic insight.
Now Miguel Garcia-Garibay, at the University of California, Los Angeles, US, and colleagues have published the first report addressing the absolute reaction kinetics of a reaction taking place in the crystalline solid state, using conventional pump-probe methods with excitation in the nanosecond and femtosecond time domains.
They studied the Norrish type I decarbonylation of a 2-indanone in solution and as a nanocrystalline suspension and, for the first time, detected the radical intermediates involved in the reaction.
To find out more, download the group’s Chemical Science Edge article for free.
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