Radicals from N-nitrosoacetanilides

In support of the intermediate formation of the acetate radical from N-nitrosoacetanilide is the evolution of carbon dioxide during the reaction. Moreover, metals such as copper, zinc, lead, antimony, and iron are attacked when N-nitrosoacetanilide is allowed to decompose in a non-polar solvent such as carbon disulfide in the presence of the metals, a behavior similar to that of metals in contact with active free radicals in the Paneth test. 

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