Solid-State Photolysis of α-Azidoacetophenones

Solid-state photolysis of 1 yields 2 in a crystal-to-crystal reaction. The reaction takes place by α-cleavage to form a benzoyl and an azido alkyl
radical pair. The azido alkyl radicals rearrange into iminyl radicals and N2. The iminyl and benzoyl radicals are held in close proximity within
the crystal lattice, which allows them to combine and form 2. X-ray structure analysis, molecular modeling and trapping studies support this
mechanism.