New nitronate sigma complexes and the mechanism of nucleophilic aromatic photosubstitution para to a nitro group.

Photolysis of 4-nitroanisole with aliphatic amines gives mainly N-substituted 4-nitroanilines. Reactions of this type have been widely attributed to a geminate radical mechanism. We questioned this interpretation and have searched for and found by NMR spectroscopy a new class of stable nitronate adducts generated under the reaction conditions. The adducts imply that photosubstitution by amines para to the nitro group occurs by meta σ complex formation followed by an unprecedented sigmatropic rearrangement.