Photosensitized oxidation of 9,10-dimethylanthracene with singlet oxygen by using a safranin O/silica composite under visible light.

The photosensitized oxidation of 9,10-dimethylanthracene with singlet oxygen in acetonitrile was investigated using a safranin O/silica composite as an heterogeneous delivery system of the photosensitizer. The only detected product was the corresponding endoperoxide (9,10-endoperoxianthracene) and its formation rate depended on the initial concentration of DMA, the light intensity and the amount of the composite. The kinetics of this reaction was compared with that of the reported kinetic model of photosensitized oxidations of organic compounds in homogeneous reactions. It was found that both reactions followed the same model, suggesting that the actual reaction between photoproduced singlet oxygen and 9,10-dimethylanthracene was performed in homogeneous media and the surface of the composite was not involved in the reaction.