Radical Chemistry: The Fundamentals

by Perkins, M. John

• ISBN13: 9780198792895
• ISBN10: 0198792891
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-05-10
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

It is exactly 100 years since Moses Gomberg claimed that he had observed a substance containing a trivalent carbon atom i.e. a carbon-centred 'free radical' (nowadays, simply a carbon-centred 'radical'). The subsequent development of radical chemistry was at first very slow, but blossomedwith the development of synthetic polymers, especially during and after World War II. In what is now generally understood by radical chemistry we are dealing with reactive, short-lived species which are electrically neutral. By the late 1960s, the essential features of the subject were well understood, and quantitative data on the energetics and kinetics of reactive radicals wererapidly accumalating.This short text sets out to present that basic understanding in a modern context, in which extensive use of radical reactions is now being made in organic synthesis, and where, in the life sciences, reactive radicals are being recognised both as mediators of many diseaseconditions, and frequently as key players in mechanisms of enzyme action.

Author Biography

John Perkins is Professor Emeritus in the University of London.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(6)
The elementary reaction steps	7	(22)
Energetics, kinetics, and mechanism	29	(24)
Experimental methods	53	(12)
Autoxidation - a case study	65	(11)
Radical ions, radical pairs, and biradicals	76	(14)
Further reading	90	(1)
Index	91