Mechanistic study on the enantiodifferentiating anti-Markovnikov photoaddition of alcohols to 1,1-diphenyl-1-alkenes in near-critical and supercritical carbon dioxide

Enantiodifferentiating anti-Markovnikov photoaddition of alcohol (methanol, ethanol, 2-propanol, and tert-butanol) to aromatic alkene (1,1-diphenylpropene and 1,1-diphenyl-1-butene), sensitized by optically active alkyl and saccharide naphthalene(di)carboxylates, was investigated in supercritical carbon dioxide at varying pressures to elucidate the effects of clustering on photosensitization and enantiodifferentiation behavior, in particular on the product's enantiomeric excess (ee). For all the alkene/alcohol/chiral sensitizer combinations examined, a sudden change in the product's ee was consistently observed near the critical density, which is attributable to the critical pressure dependence of clustering around the intervening exciplex intermediate.