Photodimerisation of acenaphthylene in a clay microenvironment.

The photochemical dimerisation of acenaphthylene in the presence of various cation-exchanged bentonite clays has been studied. While the cis-dimer is the predominant product when smaller cations are present in the clay interlayer, the presence of heavier atoms in the clay favors the trans-dimer. Synthetic anionic hydrotalcite clays are also found to be efficient for the efficient dimerisation of acenaphthylene.