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6: Radical Structure

  • Page ID
    23615
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    Establishing the structure of a free radical is a prerequisite for under­standing its reactivity. Struc­tural determination for a radical requires the same type of information needed to establish the structure of any reactive inter­me­di­ate or stable molecule. The process begins by identifying the con­stituent atoms and their connectivity. Since radicals normally are generated from known com­pounds, connectivity information usually comes directly from the substrate structure. The con­fig­uration at ever carbon atom, except the one where the radical is centered, ordin­arily is unchanged from that in the substrate. With this basic, structural infor­mation in hand, one can turn to investigating the remaining unknowns, that is, radical-center con­fig­u­ration and radical con­for­ma­tion. Although reac­tive inter­me­di­ates, such as radicals, present special problems in structural deter­mination due to their transient nature, the basic information needed is the same for both inter­mediates and stable molecules.


    This page titled 6: Radical Structure is shared under a All Rights Reserved (used with permission) license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Roger W. Binkley and Edith R. Binkley.

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