Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Measurement of Ultrafast Vibrational Coherences in Polyatomic Radical Cations with Strong-Field Adiabatic Ionization
Published on: August 6, 2018
Kinetics for tautomerizations and dissociations of triglycine radical cations
Chi-Kit Siu1, Junfang Zhao, Julia Laskin
1Department of Chemistry and Centre for Research in Mass Spectrometry, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Abstract:
Fragmentations of tautomers of the alpha-centered radical triglycine radical cation, [GGG(*)](+), [GG(*)G](+), and [G(*)GG](+), are charge-driven, giving b-type ions; these are processes that are facilitated by a mobile proton, as in the fragmentation of protonated triglycine (Rodriquez, C. F. et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 3006-3012). By contrast, radical centers are less mobile. Two mechanisms have been examined theoretically utilizing density functional theory and Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus modeling: (1) a direct hydrogen-atom migration between two alpha-carbons, and (2) a two-step proton migration involving canonical [GGG](*+) as an intermediate. Predictions employing the latter mechanism are in good agreement with results of recent CID experiments (Chu, I. K. et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 7862-7872).
Related Concept Videos
Radical Reactivity: Overview
Radical Reactivity: Intramolecular vs Intermolecular
Radicals: Electronic Structure and Geometry
Accordingly, the structure of a trivalent radical lies between the geometries of carbocations and carbanions. An sp2-hybridized carbocation is trigonal planar, while an sp3-hybridized carbanion is trigonal pyramidal. Here, the difference in geometry is...
Radical Reactivity: Steric Effects
Along with electronic factors, steric factors also account...
Radical Formation: Homolysis
Transition State Theory

