Radicals, reduction triphenylmethyl

A somewhat analogous ion-radical reduction of carbonium ions to free radicals has been shown to occur (Conant and Chow, 48) in the reduction of various triphenylmethyl carbonium ions with chromous or titanous ion. 

Bifunctional systems form heterocyclic rings for example (194) yields (195). Photolysis of N-(triphenylmethyl)anilines results exclusively in C-N bond homolysis to give the trityl (< ) = 0.6-0.8) and anilino radicals." Reduction of the N-O bond cleaved intermediate (196) (formed on irradiation of 5-amino or 5-phenyl-1,2,4-oxadiazoles) by sodium hydrogen sulfide, thiols or thioamides yields the corresponding benzamidines (197). In contrast, in the presence of nucleophilic thioureas (199) or thiocarbamates (200), N-S bond formation occurs and subsequent elimination from the possible intermediate (201) yields the thiadia-zoles (198) or (202) respectively. ... 

The reduction of hydroxylamine by titanous salts in water produces the free amino radical, a reaction analogous to the formation of triphenylmethyl from the carbinol and a reducing agent.138 The amino radical will attack benzene to give diaminocyclohexadiene and di-(aminocyclohexadienyl) it converts cyclohexene into cyclohexyl-amine.139... 

Schlenk was the one who first took triphenylmethyl-type radicals to the monomeric extreme and thus produced the final evidence for the existence of free radicals. The first example in this direction was phenylbis(biphenylyl)-methyl (11), which was isolated as white crystals from operations carried out in the apparatus described by Schmidlin. " Upon dissolution of 11 in benzene, a red color developed, and cryoscopic studies revealed that the monomeric phenylbis(biphenylyl)methyl constituted 80% of the equilibrium mixture. Trisbiphenylylmethyl (12) was even more extreme it formed black crystals and was a 100% monomeric free radical in an almost black solution. Finally, Schlenk et al. established the connection between the conducting solutions of triphenylhalomethanes and the free radical triphenylmethyl by showing that the cathodic reduction of triphenylbromomethane in liquid SO2 gave rise to triphenylmethyl. These findings were considered the definitive evidence for the free radical hypothesis, and Schlenck was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1918 and several times afterwards for this achievement, amongst others (Table 2). 

Radical mechanisms account for the stoichiometry for reduction of triketohydrindane by N(5)-ethyldihydroflavin and reduction of triphenylmethyl carbonium ion species by dihydroflavin, (24). One-electron reduction of quinone by N(5)-ethyldihydroflavin also has been shown. These results are not surprising since the substrates and flavin support reasonably stable radical states. Radical species also can be established as intermediates in the oxidation of 9-hydroxyfluorene and methyl mandelate by Flox (Equations 28 and 29, respectively). The reactions of Equations 28 and 29 are facile when carried out in... 

An alternative approach to pK determination for very weak hydrocarbon acids is the electrochemical method of Breslow " . This method is thermodynamic in origin employing voltammetric reduction/oxidation of the cation (or anion) to radical thence to anion (or cation) and comparing the energetics of these steps to the triphenylmethyl system (including bond dissociation energies of the respective hydrocarbons). Values of p aS obtained for some weak carbon acids by this method are given in Table 1 for comparison with the Streitwieser results. 

Reduction with Na(Hg) in toluene has been used to prepare p-hydroxy di- and triphenylmethyl radicals from the corresponding galvinols [89]. 

However, the acidities of the benzyltriphenylphosphonium cation (pATa = 17.4) and of diethyl benzylphosphonate (pATa = 27.6) are sufficiently different to throw into question the likelihood of deprotonation of diethyl benzylphosphonate by the radical anion of 1. On the basis of a detailed study of the processes associated with the reduction of 1 (discussed later), it is likely that the effective base may well be the much more basic triphenylmethyl-derived carbanion, 4 in Scheme 20 (pATa of PI13CH = 30.6). This may possibly be produced by adventitious protonation of the fuchsone radical anion. Alternatively, the active EGB may be the dianion formed by disproportionation. 

The electrochemical behavior of fuchsone (1) has been studied [62] in some detail. An unusual pathway is followed in the presence of acids (in this case phenols). The first-formed radical anion is protonated reversibly at oxygen and the triphenylmethyl radical so formed is not further reduced at the first reduction potential (Scheme 21). However,... 

Peroxy radicals have also been observed by the one-electron reduction of cumyl, diphenylethyl, and triphenylmethyl hydroperoxides by cobaltous salts (Shchennikova et al., 1965). 

The 9-phenylxanthyl radical is a resonance-stabilized triphenylmethyl analog. The corresponding carbonium ion and carbanion are also stabilized and can be prepared in sulfolane, so that A//het can be directly measured.The data for benzyl and t-butyl are obtained by measuring the reduction and oxidation potentials of the radicals in acetonitrile. The results show that C6H5CH2 and (CH3)3C are much harder than the 9-phenylxanthyl radical (the latter is just one of several studied with similar properties ). The solution hardnesses are then responsible for the difficulty in forming the ions in the benzyl and t-butyl cases, and the stability of the ions in the resonance-stabilized cases. The effect of the small hardness in the latter cases also is evident in the small bond energy for homolytic dissociation. 

Reduction of thiopyrylium iodide with zinc, and treatment of the product with triphenylmethyl fluoroborate, perchlorate, or iodide, yields the bisthiopyrylium salts (50 X = BF4, CIO4, or I), which are relatively stable in air but decompose rapidly in contact with water. 4-4-Coupling in the dication is indicated by the very simple n.m.r. spectrum. The dication is reduced with zinc in acetonitrile to the radical cation (51), the e.s.r. 

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