Irradiation of 9,10-dicyanoanthracene (DCA) or
p-chloranil in the presence of
E-1-benzylidene-2-phenylcyclopropane (
E-
5) in CH
2Cl
2 causes
E-
5 to undergo methylenecyclopropane rearrangement. Anadduct,
Z-7, between DCA and
5 firmly supports the involvement of a bifunctional trimethylenemethaneradical cation. In contrast, incorporation of
E-
5 into HZSM-5 produces
trans,
trans-1,4-diphenyl-1,3-butadieneradical cation sequestered in the HZSM-5 interior,
tt-
8+@HZSM-5, identified by ESR and diffuse reflectancespectroscopy. In addition, low yields of
tt-
8, its
cis,
trans-isomer (
ct-8), and 1-phenyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene(
9) were isolated from the supernatant solution. The sharp contrast between the photoinduced electron-transfer reaction with photosensitizers in solution and the spontaneous reaction with redox-active acidiczeolite offers the prospect of further zeolite-induced regiodivergent reactions in a range of additionalsubstrates.