Irradiation of sodium 1-naphthoxide in MeOH gave selectively 1, 4-dihydro-4', 8-dihydroxy-1, 1'-binaphthyl 2. A similar reaction in PhH afforded the regioisomer 5, along with 6, Structural proof is presented for these hitherto unknown dimers. The reaction is completely quenched in the presence of naphthalene, a good electron scavenger. This new type of photodimerization was proved to be initiated by intermolecular electron-transfer from the ...
