Photochemical Oxygen Transfer Reaction of 4-Methoxyazoxybenzenes in the Presence of Trichloroacetic Acid

Abstract

When 4-methoxy-ONN-azoxybenzene (1α) in benzene was irradiated with UV light in the presence of trichloroacetic acid, it was found that 1α isomerized to 4-methoxy-NNO -azoxybenzene (1β), in con-t rast to the case of UV irradiation of 1α without trichloroacetic acid. In this reaction, 5-methoxy-2-(phenylazo) phenol (2) and 2- (4-methoxyphenylazo) phenol (3) were obtained as rearrangement products.