RADICAL CATIONS OF ORGANIC NITRO-DERIVATIVES

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0040-4039(00)81638-X

Attemps to generate the radical cations of nitroalkanes using the standard procedure of exposing dilute solutions in fluorotrichloromethane at 77 K to ionizing radiation gave low yields of the expected products, having a SOMO confined to oxygen as judged by their e.s.r. spectra, together with a species whose e.s.r. spectra closely resembles that of NO2 radicals.It is suggested that these are rearranged cations, .Similar treatment of nitrobenzene and a range of its ring-substituted derivatives gave initial electron loss from benzene ? orbitals, but on annealing these rearranged into radicals similar to those for the nitroalkanes.