Singlet-oxygen generation in the catalytic reaction of dioxiranes with nucleophilic anions.

Nucleophilic anions such as Cl(-), I(-), Br(-), t-BuO(-), O(2)(-) and OH(-) efficiently catalyze the decomposition of dimethyldioxirane (DMD) and methyl(trifluoromethyl)dioxirane (TFD). Singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)) is formed in these catalytic reactions, as demonstrated by the characteristic infrared chemiluminescence (IR-CL) at 1268 nm. The yield of (1)O(2) generation, measured by the IR-CL method, lies in the range between 2 and 98%, which depends on the particular anion employed. For the bromide ion, the catalytic decomposition of the dioxirane is in competition with the oxidation of Br(-) to elemental bromine.