2,4-dimethylene-1,3-cyclobutanediyl and 2,4-dimethylenebicyclobutane. Synthesis, spectroscopy, and reactivity of a triplet biradical and its covalent isomer

The preparation and direct observation of triplet 2,4-dimethylene-1,3- cyclobutanediyl (1), the non-Kekule isomer of benzene, is described. The biradical was generated by photolysis of 5,6-dimethylene-2,3- diazabicyclo[2.1.1]hex-2-ene (2) (which was synthesized in several steps from benzvalene) under cryogenic, matrix-isolation conditions. Biradical 1 was characterized by EPR spectroscopy (‌‌‌‌‌│D/hc│ =0.0204 cm^(-1), │E/hc│ =0.0028 cm^(-1)) and found to have a triplet ground state. The Δm_s= 2 transition displays hyperfine splitting attributed to a 7.3-G coupling to the ring methine and a 5.9-G coupling to the exocyclic methylene protons. Several experiments, including application of the magnetophotoselection (mps) technique in the generation of biradical 1, have allowed a determination of the zero-field triplet sublevels as x = -0.0040, y = +0.0136, and z = -0.0096 cm^(-1), where x and y are respectively the long and short in-plane axes and z the out-of-plane axis of 1.

Triplet 1 is yellow-orange and displays highly structured absorption (λ_(max)= 506 nm) and fluorescence (λ_(max) = 510 nm) spectra, with vibronic spacings of 1520 and 620 cm^(-1) for absorption and 1570 and 620 cm^(-1) for emission. The spectra were unequivocally assigned to triplet 1 by the use of a novel technique that takes advantage of the biradical's photolability. The absorption є = 7200 M^(-1) cm^(-1) and f = 0.022, establishing that the transition is spin-allowed. Further use of the mps technique has demonstrated that the transition is x-polarized, and the excited state 1s therefore of B_(1g) symmetry, in accord with theoretical predictions.

Thermolysis or direct photolysis of diazene 2 in fluid solution produces 2,4- dimethylenebicyclo[l.l.0]butane (3), whose ^(l)H NMR spectrum (-80°C, CD_(2)Cl_(2)) consists of singlets at δ 4.22 and 3.18 in a 2:1 ratio. Compound 3 is thermally unstable and dimerizes with second-order kinetics between -80 and -25°C (∆H^(‡) = 6.8 kcal mol^(-1), (∆s^(‡) = -28 eu) by a mechanism involving direct combination of two molecules of 3 in the rate-determining step. This singlet-manifold reaction ultimately produces a mixture of two dimers, 3,8,9- trimethylenetricyclo[5.1.1.0^(2,5)]non-4-ene (75) and trans-3,10-dimethylenetricyclo[6.2.0.0^(2,5)]deca-4,8-diene (76t), with the former predominating. In contrast, triplet-sensitized photolysis of 2, which leads to triplet 1, provides, in addition to 75 and 76t, a substantial amount of trans-5,10- dimethylenetricyclo[6.2.0.0^(3,6)]deca-3,8-diene (77t) and small amounts of two unidentified dimers.

In addition, triplet biradical 1 ring-closes to 3 in rigid media both thermally (77-140 K) and photochemically. In solution 3 forms triplet 1 upon energy transfer from sensitizers having relatively low triplet energies. The implications of the thermal chemistry for the energy surfaces of the system are discussed.

1. Astronomical photometry at wavelengths of 8.5, 10.5, and 11.6 µm. 2. Infrared emission from asteroids at wavelengths of 8.5, 10.5, and 11.6 µm

The purpose of this thesis is to present new observations of thermal-infrared radiation from asteroids. Stellar photometry was performed to provide standards for comparison with the asteroid data. The details of the photometry and the data reduction are discussed in Part 1. A system of standard stars is derived for wavelengths of 8.5, 10.5 and 11.6 µm and a new calibration is adopted. Sources of error are evaluated and comparisons are made with the data of other observers.

The observations and analysis of the thermal-emission observations of asteroids are presented in Part 2. Thermal-emission lightcurve and phase effect data are considered. Special color diagrams are introduced to display the observational data. These diagrams are free of any model-dependent assumptions and show that asteroids differ in their surface properties.

On the basis of photometric models, (4) Vesta is thought to have a bolometric Bond albedo of about 0.1, an emissivity greater than 0.7 and a true radius that is close to the model value of 300^(+50)_(-30)km. Model albedos and model radii are given for asteroids 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 15, 19, 20, 27, 39, 44, 68, 80, 324 and 674. The asteroid (324) Bamberga is extremely dark with a model (~bolometric Bond) albedo in the 0.01 - 0.02 range, which is thought to be the lowest albedo yet measured for any solar-system body. The crucial question about such low-albedo asteroids is their number and the distribution of their orbits.