Radical (chemistry) | EPFL Graph Search

Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?

Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of GraphSearch.

In chemistry, a radical, also known as a free radical, is an atom, molecule, or ion that has at least one unpaired valence electron. With some exceptions, these unpaired electrons make radicals highly chemically reactive. Many radicals spontaneously dimerize. Most organic radicals have short lifetimes. A notable example of a radical is the hydroxyl radical (HO·), a molecule that has one unpaired electron on the oxygen atom. Two other examples are triplet oxygen and triplet carbene (꞉CH2) which have two unpaired electrons. Radicals may be generated in a number of ways, but typical methods involve redox reactions, Ionizing radiation, heat, electrical discharges, and electrolysis are known to produce radicals. Radicals are intermediates in many chemical reactions, more so than is apparent from the balanced equations. Radicals are important in combustion, atmospheric chemistry, polymerization, plasma chemistry, biochemistry, and many other chemical processes. A majority of natural products are generated by radical-generating enzymes. In living organisms, the radicals superoxide and nitric oxide and their reaction products regulate many processes, such as control of vascular tone and thus blood pressure. They also play a key role in the intermediary metabolism of various biological compounds. Such radicals can even be messengers in a process dubbed redox signaling. A radical may be trapped within a solvent cage or be otherwise bound. Radicals are either (1) formed from spin-paired molecules or (2) from other radicals. Radicals are formed from spin-paired molecules through homolysis of weak bonds or electron transfer, also known as reduction. Radicals are formed from other radicals through substitution, addition, and elimination reactions. Homolysis makes two new radicals from a spin-paired molecule by breaking a covalent bond, leaving each of the fragments with one of the electrons in the bond. Because breaking a chemical bond requires energy, homolysis occurs under the addition of heat or light.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related publications (26)

Related people (19)

Related concepts (228)

Related courses (30)

Related lectures (137)

Singlet oxygen

Singlet oxygen, systematically named dioxygen(singlet) and dioxidene, is a gaseous inorganic chemical with the formula O=O (also written as 1[O2] or 1O2), which is in a quantum state where all electrons are spin paired. It is kinetically unstable at ambient temperature, but the rate of decay is slow. The lowest excited state of the diatomic oxygen molecule is a singlet state. It is a gas with physical properties differing only subtly from those of the more prevalent triplet ground state of O2.

Superoxide

In chemistry, a superoxide is a compound that contains the superoxide ion, which has the chemical formula . The systematic name of the anion is dioxide(1−). The reactive oxygen ion superoxide is particularly important as the product of the one-electron reduction of dioxygen , which occurs widely in nature. Molecular oxygen (dioxygen) is a diradical containing two unpaired electrons, and superoxide results from the addition of an electron which fills one of the two degenerate molecular orbitals, leaving a charged ionic species with a single unpaired electron and a net negative charge of −1.

Hydroxyl radical

The hydroxyl radical is the diatomic molecule •OH. The hydroxyl radical is very stable as a dilute gas, but it decays very rapidly in the condensed phase. It is pervasive in some situations. Most notably the hydroxyl radicals are produced from the decomposition of hydroperoxides (ROOH) or, in atmospheric chemistry, by the reaction of excited atomic oxygen with water. It is also important in the field of radiation chemistry, since it leads to the formation of hydrogen peroxide and oxygen, which can enhance corrosion and SCC in coolant systems subjected to radioactive environments.

CH-707: Frontiers in Chemical Synthesis. Towards Sustainable Chemistry

This training will empowered the student with all the tools of modern chemistry, which will be highly useful for his potential career as a process or medicinal chemist in industry.

CH-432: Structure and reactivity

To develop a detailed knowledge of the key steps of advanced modern organic synthesis going beyond classical chemistry of olefins and carbonyls.

MSE-437: Polymer chemistry and macromolecular engineering

Know modern methods of polymer synthesis. Understand how parameters, which determine polymer structure and properties, such as molecular weight, molecular weight distribution, topology, microstructure

Diamond-Based Nanoscale Quantum Relaxometry for Sensing Free Radical Production in Cells

Mayeul Sylvain Chipaux, Hoda Shirzad

Diamond magnetometry makes use of fluorescent defects in diamonds to convert magnetic resonance signals into fluorescence. Because optical photons can be detected much more sensitively, this technique

WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH2022

Chlorination of arenes via the degradation of toxic chlorophenols

Paul Joseph Dyson, Mingyang Liu, Xuemei Yang

Aryl chlorides are among the most versatile synthetic precursors, and yet inexpensive and benign chlorination techniques to produce them are underdeveloped. We propose a process to generate aryl chlor

2022

Photochemical Alkynylations with Hypervalent Iodine Reagents

Stephanie Grace Elizabeth Amos

Over the past twenty years, photochemical transformations have gained in importance in organic chemistry. Indeed, the development of photocatalysts has allowed the use of visible light as an energy so

EPFL2022

Catalytic Asymmetric Reactions in Organic Chemistry CH-435: Catalytic asymmetric reactions in organic chemistry

Explores catalytic asymmetric reactions in organic chemistry, focusing on radical-based approaches and photoredox catalysis.

Heterogeneous Catalysis: Basics and Kinetics ChE-403: Heterogenous reaction engineering

Covers the basics of heterogeneous catalysis and the importance of transition state theory in predicting reaction rates.

Alkane Chlorination: Selectivity and Reactivity

Explores alkane chlorination, emphasizing selectivity and reactivity of hydrogen atoms, with examples and alternatives discussed.