1-(p-Substituted benzyl)-2, 4, 6-triphenylpyridinium cations react with β-diketone anions by mechanisms which depend on the para-substituent. The p-methoxybenzyl derivative undergoes SN1 displacement yielding O-and C-benzylated products. The pnitrobenzyl compound reacts by a chain radicaloid mechanism and gives high yields of C- pnitrobenzylated diketones. The parent benzyl compound forms some C-and some O- ...
[Yoshihara, Nobutoshi; Kitagawa, Teruhiro; Ihara, Ikuko; Hasegawa, Sadao; Hasegawa, Tadashi Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan, 1992 , vol. 65, # 4 p. 1185 - 1187]