Excited radical cations pulse radiolysis

Kemp and coworkers employed the pulse radiolysis technique to study the radiolysis of liquid dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) with several amines as solutes [triphenylamine, and N, A, A, N -tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD)]. The radiolysis led to the formation of transient, intense absorptions closely resembling those of the corresponding amine radical cations. Pulse radiolysis studies determine only the product Ge, where G is the radiolytic yield and e is the molar absorption. Michaelis and coworkers measured e for TMPD as 1.19 X 10 m s and from this a G value of 1.7 is obtained for TMPD in DMSO. The insensitivity of the yield to the addition of electron scavenger (N2O) and excited triplet state scavenger (naphthalene) proved that this absorption spectrum belonged to the cation. 

Elegant evidence that free electrons can be transferred from an organic donor to a diazonium ion was found by Becker et al. (1975, 1977a see also Becker, 1978). These authors observed that diazonium salts quench the fluorescence of pyrene (and other arenes) at a rate k = 2.5 x 1010 m-1 s-1. The pyrene radical cation and the aryldiazenyl radical would appear to be the likely products of electron transfer. However, pyrene is a weak nucleophile the concentration of its covalent product with the diazonium ion is estimated to lie below 0.019o at equilibrium. If electron transfer were to proceed via this proposed intermediate present in such a low concentration, then the measured rate constant could not be so large. Nevertheless, dynamic fluorescence quenching in the excited state of the electron donor-acceptor complex preferred at equilibrium would fit the facts. Evidence supporting a diffusion-controlled electron transfer (k = 1.8 x 1010 to 2.5 X 1010 s-1) was provided by pulse radiolysis. 

Absorption due to main intermediates such as polymer cation radicals and excited states, electrons, and alkyl radicals of saturated hydrocarbon polymers had not been observed for a long time by pulse radiolysis [39]. In 1989, absorption due to the main intermediates was observed clearly in pulse radiolysis of saturated hydrocarbon polymer model compounds except for electrons [39,48]. In 1989, the broad absorption bands due to polymer excited states in the visible region and the tail parts of radical cation and electrons were observed in pulse radiolysis of ethylene-propylene copolymers and the decay of the polymer radical cations were clearly observed [49]. Recently, absorption band due to electrons in saturated hydrocarbon polymer model compounds was observed clearly by pulse radiolysis [49] as shown in Fig. 2. In addition, very broad absorption bands in the infrared region were observed clearly in the pulse radiolysis of ethylene-propylene copolymers [50] as shown in Fig. 3. Radiation protection effects [51] and detailed geminate ion recombination processes [52] of model compounds were studied by nano-, pico-, and subpicosecond pulse radiolyses. 

Recently, the primary processes were investigated using pulse radiolysis with two extractant-alkane systems (182, 292). Transient optical absorption spectra proved that in the presence of ligands like TODGA, the excited species of -dodecane (singlet excited state and radical cation) disappeared immediately. Results showed that an energy transfer occurred from the excited alkane to the extractant molecule (TBP, TOPO, or amide), which constituted an additional decomposition route, as described in the following set of reactions ... 

The pulse radiolysis studies of liquid alkanes have relevance to the radiolysis of polyethylene and related polymers. In liquid alkanes at ambient temperature, the reaction intermediates such as alkane radical-cations, olefin radical-cations, olefine dimer-cations, excited states, and alkyl radicals have been observed after the electron-pulse irradiation [90-93]. According to the nanosecond and subnanosecond studies by Tagawa et al., the observed species were alkane radical cations, excited states, and alkyl radicals in n-dodecane excited states and cyclohexyl radical were observed in cyclohexane, and only radicals in neopentane [91, 93]. Olefin radical-cations were also detected in cyclohexane containing carbon tetrachloride [92],... 

Spectra and kinetics were also determined for many other species. The solvated electron was observed and its spectrum was determined in a wide variety of solvents, from ethers and alcohols to hydrocarbons and even supercritical fluids. Other radicals, including the benzyl radical, the first species studied in pulse radiolysis, were observed. Excited states, both singlet and triplet, anions and cations, were determined for aromatic species. The number and variety of species is large. The importance of these studies was that it was now possible to observe the intermediate states in the radiation-chemical reactions and thus confirm or refute reaction mechanisms that had been proposed based on product yield data. 

Figure 5. Carotenoid radical cation transient spectra for C-P-Q triad 2 ( ) and two model carotenoid systems (a and +). The spectrum for 2 was obtained following laser flash excitation of the triad at 600 nm and represents the C -P-Q " charge-separated state. The other two spectra are from radical cations produced by pulse radiolysis [30].

To our knowledge, 46 has never been observed in solution under stable conditions, even at low temperature. Pulse radiolysis " of benzyl chloride as well as flash photolysis ° of several derivatives in HHP have allowed the observation of the electronic absorption spectra of benzyl and its 4-methyl and 4-methoxy derivatives. The and NMR spectra of the 2,4,6-trimethylbenzyl cation and other more heavily substituted benzyl cations, however, have been studied at low temperature in superacid media. In the gas phase, cold benzyl radical has been probed by two-color, resonant two-photon ionization techniques, thus providing very accurate vibrational frequencies below 650 cm for the benzyl cation. Furthermore, the adiabatic ionization energy of benzyl radical and several isotopomers in the ground state were determined from their threshold photoionization spectra using resonant two-photon excitation and detection of electrons by pulsed field ionization. This information, combined with Af//° (CgH5CH2) from Ref. 212 leads to the value of Af//°m(46) reported in Table 9. 

The observation that pulse radiolysis of NaO-saturated methylcyclohexane gives the solvent radical cation but that the argon-saturated solution gives the olefinic methyl-cyclohexene radical cation is attributed to the formation of a common excited-state precursor which then either fragments (Ar) or is quenched (NaO). Rate constants for the various processes have been measured. 

It is known that the couple NAD(P) /NAD(P)H plays a dominant role as a cofactor of many enzymatic redox reactions related to energy transfer and substrate metabolism in biological systems. Although NAD(P)+/NAD(P)H is considered to operate enzymatically through hydride transfer, the possibility that primary reactions involve one-electron transfer is supported by electrochemicaP and pulse radiolysis studies. High intensity excitation of NADH was found to produce two-photon ionization of NADH° to radical cations. 

A mechanism to describe the high-energy, radiolysis-initiated attachment of pyrene molecules to PE chains has been proposed by Biscogho and Thomas. Its principal claim, that preformed carbon-centered PE radicals or cations add to ground-state pyrene molecules, is supported by transient absorption spectra. Signals ascribed to electronically excited singlet and triplet states ( Py , Py ), and radical ions (Py, Py ) of pyrene were detected initially after initiation of reactions by a pulse of 0.4 MeV electrons, but decayed to undetectable levels within 4 msec. However, polymer-centered radicals remained 4 msec after pulsed excitation and are presumed to decay according to step 19 of Scheme 3. Another transient absorption, consistent with a PE-bound 1-pyrenyl radical (RPyH ), persisted up to 3 sec after the excitation pulse. 

---