Photo-induced β-elimination of 9-fluorenylmethanol leading to dibenzofulvene.

An effective photo-induced β-elimination of an alcohol leading to a vinyl compound is introduced for the first time. 9-Fluorenylmethanol was irradiated in a solution using a Xe lamp and was efficiently converted to dibenzofulvene (DBF) (9-methylenefluorene) in the absence of base which is necessary in the corresponding ground-state reaction.