Electron-transfer photochemistry of organic amides and imides

Abstract

The wider variety of photochemical reactions observed for cyclic dicarboximides, rather Than for carboxamides, is associated in part with the possibility of reaction pathways involving initial electron transfer. Such pathways are not favourable for thio analogues of the imides. Simple dipeptides and tripeptides, however, do give products on photolysis that are most readily accommodated in a mechanism that starts with excited state electron transfer to the amide group. This is exemplified for a number of dipeptides and for triglycine, with evidence from product arrays that sequential electron transfer is one route to products for the tripeptide. © 1988 IUPAC