Regioselectivity and stereoselectivity of intramolecular [2 + 2] photocycloaddition catalyzed by chiral thioxanthone: a quantum chemical study.

Chiral photosensitizer-catalyzed stereoselective olefin cyclization has shown its significance in organic synthesis. In this work, we investigated the reaction mechanism, regioselectivity and stereoselectivity of photochemical intramolecular [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction catalyzed by a chiral thioxanthone molecule using quantum chemical calculations. The reaction proceeded via an energy transfer from the triplet thioxanthone to the substrate, involving stepwise and sequential C-C bond formation. The first C-C bond formation was calculated to be the rate-limiting and selectivity-controlling step. The origin of stereoselectivity was found to be interaction-controlled by distortion/interaction analysis. In addition, the catalyst substituent effects (O vs. S vs. Se) on the stereoselectivity of the photocycloadditions were explored, which provides helpful mechanistic information for the design of related photoinduced reactions.