The photolysis of octachlorodirhenate(III) in chloroform

In contrast to acetonitrile, in which [Re2Cl8]2− is converted to [ReCl4(CH3CN)2]− by UV irradiation, chloroform solutions of [Re2Cl8]2− undergo photooxidation to [Re2Cl9]− under 254 nm irradiation. The rate varies with the square root of the fraction of light absorbed by the chloroform.