The photochemical reactions of benzyl p-methylbenzyl sulfone (ASO2B) in sodium dodecylsulfonate (As)-pentanol-H2O microemulsions and lyotripic liquid crystals have been studied. The effects of microenviroments provided by microemulsion and lyotripic liquid crystal on product distribution have been investigated. While W/O emulsion gave a cage effect analogoues to pentanol, the lyotripic liquid crystal and O/W emulsion provided supereages. This results were explained by consideration of the hydrophobic of the sulfone and the structure of the reaction media. Application of a weak external magnetic field to the photochemical reaction of ASO2B in O/W microemulsion leads to a decrease in cage effect, suggesting that the photochemical reaction proceeds via a triplet excited state.

Key words: SULFONE, PHOTOCHEMICAL REACTION, WATER, EXCITED STATE, ALKYLSULFONATE, CAGE EFFECT, PENTANOL, PHASE DIAGRAM