Photoinduced One-Electron Oxidation of Estrone Derivatives: A Combined Steady-State and Time-Resolved Spectroscopy Investigation

A detailed investigation of the photophysics and of the redox properties of a set of selected estrone carboxylate and sulfonate esters was carried out by means of steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopies. The observed dual fluorescence was assigned to an efficient intramolecular energy transfer from the aromatic moiety to the carbonyl group. On the other hand, the photoinduced monoelectronic oxidation of R−OX in the presence of persulphate anion is followed by mesolytic fragmentation of the so generated radical cation into the corresponding phenoxyl radical with rate constant values (kfrag) of 104–105 s−1, that depend on the X−O bond dissociation energy values.