LAUSR

Abstract Photoinduced ω-bond cleavage was investigated in seven newly synthesized aromatic ketones having five-membered rings (furan and thiophene) and/or phenyl group connected to the phenylthiyl moiety with C S bond. Following direct laser excitation of these ketones in acetonitrile, the transient absorption spectra that appeared were shown to be due to the corresponding triplet states. No chemical reactions occurred upon direct excitation. However, triplet sensitization of these aromatic ketones using xanthone revealed no formation of their triplet states. Instead absorption spectra of the phenylthiyl radical (PTR) appeared as a result of C S bond cleavage. These observations indicate that higher triplet states were reactive leading to C S bond dissociation. The C S bond dissociation mechanism upon triplet sensitization for the studied carbonyl compounds was discussed considering energy diagrams of the higher excited states.