Photodegradation of the lignin model α-guaiacoxyacetoveratrone, unusual effects of solvent, oxygen, and singlet state participation

α-Guaiacoxyacetoveratrone, a lignin model compound, has been studied using a combination of laser flash photolysis and steady state quantum yields. Triplet lifetimes range from 175 to 600 ns while the quantum yields of photodegradation vary from 0.06 to 0.6, depending on the solvent. Singlet processes (Φ ~ 0.1), previously unobserved for aromatic ketones, are implicated in the mechanism, and account for most or all of the degradation in aprotic solvents.