Radical cation stability

Konovalova, T. A., J. Krzystek et al. (1999). 95-670GHz EPR studies of canthaxanthin radical cation stabilized on a silica-alumina surface. J. Phys. Chem. B 103 5782-5786. 

The form of the enzyme with the greatest oxidation potential is known as horseradish peroxidase, compound 1 (HRP-I), which consists of a radical cation stabilized throughout the highly conjugated protoporphyrin IX ring system. In the presence of vindoline, HRP-I is reduced to HRP-H, an Fe(IV) form of the enzyme. The vindoline cation radical 55 thus formed eliminates a second elec-... 

The anodic coupling of aryl ethers is reviewed in Ref. [180]. Aryl ethers are more selectively coupled than phenols for the following reasons The carbon-oxygen coupling is made impossible and the ortho-coupling and the oxidation to quinones become more difficult. A mixture of triflu-oroacetic acid (TFA) and dichloromethane proved to be the most suitable electrolyte [181]. TFA enhances the radical cation stability and suppresses the nucle-ophilicity of water. Of further advantage is the addition of alumina or trifluo-roacetic anhydride [182]. Table 12 compiles representative examples of the aryl ether coupling. 

The X-ray crystal structure of the hexafluoroantimonate salt of 1,4-diithin radical cation stabilized by bicyclo[2.2.2]octane annelation revealed a planar ring and was in agreement with theoretical calculations. Tertiary aminium radical cations underwent facile 5-exo-cyclization to give distonic 2-substituted pyrrolidinium radical cations. 

Glass RS, Hojjatie M, Wilson GS, Mahling S, Gobi M, Asmus K-D (1984) Pulse radiolysis generation of sulfur radical cations stabilized by neighboring carboxylate and alcohol groups. J Am Chem Soc 106 5382-5383... 

Similarly, radiolytically produced radical cations can be stabilized in zeohtes and related materials. This possibility was exploited by spectroscopists to study the EPR of radical cations and some neutral radicals even before the development of inert matrices such as rare gases and freons for radical cation stabilization. Recently, work in our laboratory has developed the use of inert zeolites as microreactors to control radical cation reactions and to study radiation chemistry in heterogeneous systems. In the case of active catalysts, radiolysis can potentially produce radical cations of products as weU as starting material. Thus, like the spontaneous oxidation process described above, radiolysis combined with EPR permits a method of post-reaction analysis of products by in situ spectroscopy. 

Strongly temperature dependent ESR spectra were observed for the [(CH3)3NCH2] radical cation stabilized in Al-offretite and SAPO-42, see... 

Substituents on the methine chain can stabilize the dye radical cation if the substituent (like methyl) is located on the high electron density carbons. However, no significant stabilization occurs when alkyl groups are on the alternate positions (like 9, 11 for the dication in Fig. 9). Current results for several dyes including die arbo cyanines and carbocyanines indicate that electronic stabilization of the dication radical lengthens the radical lifetime and also enhances the reversibiUty of the dimerization process (37). 

Radical cations can be derived from aromatic hydrocarbons or alkenes by one-electron oxidation. Antimony trichloride and pentachloride are among the chemical oxidants that have been used. Photodissociation or y-radiation can generate radical cations from aromatic hydrocarbons. Most radical cations derived from hydrocarbons have limited stability, but EPR spectral parameters have permitted structural characterization. The radical cations can be generated electrochemically, and some oxidation potentials are included in Table 12.1. The potentials correlate with the HOMO levels of the hydrocarbons. The higher the HOMO, the more easily oxidized is the hydrocarbon. 

Cobalt trifluoride fluorination corresponds to the electron-transfer mechanism via a radical cation. RF groups attached to the ring enhance the stability of intermediate dienes and monoenes. Perfluoroalkyl pyridines, pyrazines, and pyrimidines were successfully fluorinated but pyridazines eliminated nitrogen. The lack of certain dienes was attributed to the difference in stability of FC=C and RFC=C and steric effects [81JCS(P1)2059]. 

This statement does not mean, however, that the mechanism of diazotization was completely elucidated with that breakthrough. More recently it was possible to test the hypothesis that, in the reaction between the nitrosyl ion and an aromatic amine, a radical cation and the nitric oxide radical (NO ) are first formed by a one-electron transfer from the amine to NO+. Stability considerations imply that such a primary step is feasible, because NO is a stable radical and an aromatic amine will form a radical cation relatively easily, especially if electron-donating substituents are present. As discussed briefly in Section 2.6, Morkovnik et al. (1988) found that the radical cations of 4-dimethylamino- and 4-7V-morpholinoaniline form the corresponding diazonium ions with the nitric oxide radical (Scheme 2-39). 

The most evident of these is the marked stability of radical cations formed in an aprotic medium by the oxidation of compounds where the first ionization potential (in the sense of photoelectron spectroscopy) is for the removal of an electron from a non-bonding orbital, e. g. thianthrene... 

Thus, polymerization will always occur when kp > k<, -E k ([solv] + pC ]). In the case of highly electron-donating substituents the stability of the radical cations may be so great that k > kp + k ([solv] -E PC ]) and most of the ions diffuse into the solution. By contrast, if — given electron-withdrawing subsituents and high oxidation potential — k ([solv] + PC ]) becomes greater than kp -E k, then the nucleophilic addition will dominate and the polymerization will be suppressed. 

Nowadays, ultramarine-type pigments are produced synthetically. Inside the zeolite structure the highly reactive sulfur radical anions are well protected which explains the stability of the blue color over thousands of years in air. However, the species responsible for the blue color should not be confused with the sulfur radical cations responsible for the blue color of sulfur solutions in fuming sulfuric acid (oleum) and similar oxidizing mixtures... 

MORTENSEN A, SKIBSTED L H (1997) Relative stability of carotenoid radical cations and homologue tocopheroxyl radicals. A real time kinetic study of antioxidant hierarchy. FFBS Letters, 417, 261-6. 

A different strategy has been applied in our work, that emphasizes the importance of DNA stability on hole transfer within double-stranded DNA. This work is based on determination of the overall yield of oxidized nucleosides that arise from the conversion of initially generated purine and pyrimidine radical cations within DNA exposed to two-photon UVC laser pulses. On the one hand, this work benefits from the excellent current knowledge of chemical reactions involving the radical cations of DNA bases, and on the other hand, from major analytical improvements that include recent availability of the powerful technique of high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (CLHP-ESI-MS/MS) [16-18]. 

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