Peroxynitrous acid metastable states

The second proposal is a bit more imaginative and arises from the above arguments that 0—0 bond homolysis is much too slow to be involved in oxidations by peroxynitrate. Pryor and coworkers invoked the intermediacy of a metastable form of peroxynitrous acid (HO—ONO ) in equilibrium with its ground state. This so-called excited state of peroxynitrous acid has, to date, eluded detection or characterization by the experimental community. However, recent high-level theoretical calculations by Bach and his collaborators have presented plausible evidence for the intermediacy of such a shortlived species with a highly elongated 0—0 bond and have confirmed its involvement in the oxidation of hydrocarbons (see below). The discovery of this novel series of biologically important oxidants has fostered a new area of research in both the experimental and theoretical communities. In this chapter we will describe many of the more pertinent theoretical studies on both the physical properties and chemical reactivity of peroxynitrous acid. 

C. Higher-lying Metastable States of Peroxynitrous Acid... 

Two fundamental questions of pertinence to the relevance of higher-lying metastable states of peroxynitrous acid are their relative stability in aqueous media and possible... 

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