Abstract
SOME confusion appears to be creeping into the literature with regard to the designation of molecules which function as free radicals. Some authors, for example, describe methylene H2C = as a diradical, and the next step presumably will be to term methine HC= a triradical. This is certain to lead to confusion, since methylene contains a carbon atom with an electron sextet, while a diradical, such as–CR2–CR2–CR2–, contains two carbon atoms with an electron septet or free valence. Accordingly, methylene with its electron sextet should be regarded as a bivalent radical. It is true that oxygen, in virtue of its high paramagnetism, is considered to be a diradical, but this refers to the oxygen molecule,–O–O–, with each atom carrying a free valence.
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BOWDEN, S. Free Radical Terminology. Nature 142, 879 (1938). https://doi.org/10.1038/142879a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/142879a0
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