Photochemistry of dibenzylketone in Nafion membranes

Photolysis of dibenzyl ketone in vacuum-dried Nafion membranes leads to the detection of fluorescence from the protonated ketone and formation of modest yields of benzyl cations characterized using laser photolysis techniques. Exchange of the acid sites in Nafion by cationic surfactants leads to decreased environmental polarity and a change in mechanism towards the benzyl radical chemistry which is common in organic solvents. The decay of benzyl radicals in Nafion membranes shows magnetic field dependence which indicates that geminate processes play an important role.