Solvent effects on the photochemistry of dimethyl sulfoxide-Cl complexes studied by combined pulse radiolysis and laser flash photolysis

Photolysis of complexes of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) with chlorine atoms results in rapid and permanent photobleaching which may be due to intramolecular hydrogen abstraction. The effects of solvent polarity were examined in a wide variety of DMSO–carbon tetrachloride mixed solvents. The quantum yields of photobleaching decreased from 0.27 to 0.08 as the solvent polarity increased, while significant changes were observed in the low DMSO concentration range (<0.2 mol dm−3). This cannot be accounted for by simple solvent polarity effects. The effects of polar and nonpolar additives were also examined and it is concluded that the specific solvation effect of DMSO was the main cause of the significant change in quantum yields in the low concentration range of DMSO.