A series of diazobis (2, 6-dimethylphenyl) methanes (1) bearing eight symmetrical para di- substituents have been prepared and photolyzed to generate the corresponding carbenes (2). Product analysis studies showed that carbenes (2) decay mainly either by dimerization to form tetra (aryl) ethylene (3) or by attack at an o-methyl group to afford 1, 2- dihydrobenzocyclobutenes (4) by way of o-quinodimethanes (6) in solution. The zero-field ...