Bridgehead hydrogens reactivity with radicals

Relative reactivity studies of homolytic substitution of monosubstituted benzene derivatives reveal that the 1-adamantyl radical has more pronounced nucleophilic properties than have other, more strained, bridgehead radicals. With benzo-nitrile 21.1) almost exclusive para-substitution is observed, whereas with anisole 0.65) the three possible sites are attacked almost equally. Kinetic studies on the reaction of adamantanethione with adamantane-2-thiol indicate that the rate-controlling chain-propagation step is hydrogen abstraction from the thiol (AdHSH) by the carbon-centred radical AdHSSAd-, and that the main mode of termination involves the diffusion-controlled bimolecular self-reaction of these radicals. ... 

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