INVESTIGATION OF REACTIONS OF PYRIDINE N-OXIDE CATION RADICALS WITH HYDROCARBONS, BY MEANS OF FLASH-PHOTOLYSIS

A method has been developed for generating cation radicals of pyridine N-oxide (PyO+) by one-electron oxidation of pyridine N-oxide by photoexcited chloranil in the triplet state. It has been established that the absorption spectrum of PyO+ in the visible region has a broad maximum at 430-460 nm. The kinetics of reactions of PyO+ with cyclohexane, toluene, and methanol have been investigated. It has been shown that these reactions proceed through the formation of an intermediate complex that reacts rapidly with oxygen; under photolytic conditions, the N-oxide is reduced to pyridine.