Substituent electronic effects on the persistence and absorption spectra of (Z)-o-xylylenols. A nanosecond laser flash photolysis study

A systematic investigation on a broad set of aldehydes reveals that the lifetimes of (Z)-photoenols can be modulated by a variation of the substituents. The electronic factors in conjunction with hydrogen bonding stabilization may increase the potential of unimolecular and bimolecular chemistry based on photoenolization.