Atomic Force Microscopy of Photochemistry of 4,4-Dimethylbenzophenone in the Solid State

The formation of regular nanostructures by photodimerization of 4,4ʹ-dimethylbenzophenone (1) through intermolecular hydrogen abstraction, is investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and known crystal packing data. AFM reveals that the crystal face (001) of 1 exhibits volcanoes. All the experimental results are correlated with the crystal structure. Molecular interpretation of the AFM features of 1 is given.