Oxidation chain-breaking electron acceptors

In its broadest sense, the term uncoupler has been used to describe any compound that prevents the synthesis of ATP (other than by direct inhibition of ATP synthase) but allows electrons to be accepted from NADH and succinate. Thus, menadione, which acts as an alternative acceptor for electrons, thereby diverting them from the full mitochondrial pathway, has been described as an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation [1]. However, for the purposes of this chapter, uncouplers are more precisely defined as compounds that break the link between the intact and functional electron transport chain and ATP synthase. 

Very efficient tools to create solitons are chemical and electrochemical reactions (doping). The ionization potentials of the dopants are of the order of eV Therefore they can break the double bonds and take electrons out of the polymer chain (oxidative or acceptor doping, / -doping) or push additional electrons in (reductive or donor doping, w-doping). This process is illustrated in Figure 1.25. 

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