Photooxidation of anilines and phenols: Two distinct mechanisms

Paul Erickson was the lead author on a collaborative paper with Sam Arey's group of EPFL studying the photooxidation of anilines and phenols. This paper also featured the Master thesis work of Nicolas Walpen. These two structurally similar functional groups display distinct mechanisms when oxidized by triplet state methylene blue. Anilines undergo single electron transfer, while phenols are oxidized by proton-coupled electron transfer.

Controlling Factors in the Rates of Oxidation of Anilines and Phenols by Triplet Methylene Blue in Aqueous Solution Paul R. Erickson, Nicolas Walpen, Jennifer J. Guerard, Soren N. Eustis, J. Samuel Arey*, and Kristopher McNeill* J. Phys. Chem. A, 2015, 119, 3233–3243.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jp511408f

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