Photodegradation of boron difluoride dibenzoylmethanate in solutions
The UV photostability of boron difluoride dibenzoylmethanate (DBMBF2) in the aprotic solvents acetonitrile, dimethylsulfoxide, acetone, methyl cyclohexane, dioxane, and tetrahydrofuran has been studied. The DBMBF2 half-life largely depends on the solvent and varies from 3 min in tetrahydrofuran to 9 h 40 min in acetonitrile. It has been found that the photodegradation of DBMBF2 involves the detachment of the BF2 molecule to yield dibenzoylmethane occurring in the ketone (absorption at 220–240 nm) and enol (absorption at 340–345 nm) forms. It has been shown that DBMBF2 can be stabilized by sterically hindered piperidines, thereby suggesting the participation of singlet oxygen in the photodegradation of DBMBF2.