Stable phosphorus radicals

Spin Density map on phosphinyl radical found by NBO analysis.

Stable and persistent phosphorus radicals are phosphorus-centred radicals that are isolable and can exist for at least short periods of time.[1] Radicals consisting of main group elements are often very reactive and undergo uncontrollable reactions, notably dimerization and polymerization.[2] The common strategies for stabilising these phosphorus radicals usually include the delocalisation of the unpaired electron over a pi system or nearby electronegative atoms, and kinetic stabilisation with bulky ligands. Stable and persistent phosphorus radicals can be classified into three categories: neutral, cationic, and anionic radicals. Each of these classes involve various sub-classes, with neutral phosphorus radicals being the most extensively studied. Phosphorus exists as one isotope 31P (I = 1/2) with large hyperfine couplings relative to other spin active nuclei, making phosphorus radicals particularly attractive for spin-labelling experiments.[1]

  1. ^ a b Armstrong, A.; Chivers, T.; Boere, R. T. (2006-10-03). "The Diversity of Stable and Persistent Phosphorus-Containing Radicals". ChemInform. 37 (40). doi:10.1002/chin.200640250. ISSN 0931-7597.
  2. ^ Das, Bindusagar; Makol, Abhishek; Kundu, Subrata (2022). "Phosphorus radicals and radical ions". Dalton Transactions. 51 (33): 12404–12426. doi:10.1039/D2DT01499H. ISSN 1477-9226. PMID 35920252. S2CID 250659955.