Photogeneration of 1,5-naphthoquinone methides via excited-state (formal) intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) and photodehydration of 1-naphthol derivatives in aqueous solution

The photochemistry of naphthols 1, 2, 4, 5 and 9, and phenol 10 has been studied in aqueous solution with the primary aim of exploring the viability of such compounds for naphthoquinone and quinone methide photogeneration, along the lines already demonstrated by our group for phenol derivatives. 1-Naphthol (1) is known to be substantially more acidic than 2-naphthol (2) in the singlet excited state (pK a * = 0.4 and 2.8, respectively) and it was expected that this difference in excited-state acidity might be manifested in higher reactivity of 1-naphthol derivatives for photochemical reactions requiring excited-state naphtholate ions, such as quinone methide formation. Our results show that three types of naphthoquinone methides (26a, 26b, and 27) are readily photogenerated in aqueous solution by irradiation of 1-naphthols. Photolysis of the parent 1-naphthol (1) in neutral aqueous solution gave 1,5-naphthoquinone methide 26a as well as the non-Kekulé 1,8-naphthoquinone methide 26b, both via the process of excited-state (formal) intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT), based on the observation of deuterium exchange at the 5- and 8-positions, respectively, on photolysis in D 2 O–CH 3 CN. A transient assignable to the 1,5-naphthoquinone methide 26a was observed in laser flash photolysis experiments. The isomeric 2-naphthol (2) was unreactive under similar conditions. The more conjugated 1,5-naphthoquinone methide 27 was formed efficiently via photodehydroxylation of 4; isomeric 5 was unreactive. The efficient photosolvolytic reaction observed for 4 opens the way to design related naphthol systems for application as photoreleasable protecting groups by virtue of the long-wavelength absorption of the naphthalene chromophore.Key words: photosolvolysis, excited-state intramolecular proton transfer, quinone methide, photorelease, photoprotonation.