Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 24, 2026

Isolating Free Carbenes, their Mixed Dimers and Organic Radicals
Published on: April 19, 2019
The Charge Transfer Approach to Heavier Main-Group Element Radicals in Transition-Metal Complexes
Gengwen Tan1, Jing Li1, Li Zhang1
1State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China.
Abstract:
The CoII and FeII complexes 1Co and 1Fe with a coordinated phosphorus radical were easily obtained through a charge-transfer approach from the MI precursors LMI (tol) (M=Co, Fe; L=CH(MeC=NDipp)2 , Dipp=2,6-iPr2 C6 H3 ) to the diazafluorenylidene-substituted phosphaalkene 1. Structural, magnetic, and computational studies on 1Co and 1Fe indicate a weak antiferromagnetic interaction between the high-spin MII ion and the phosphorus radical, resulting in a triplet and quartet ground state, respectively. Complexes 1Co and 1Fe are the first examples of phosphorus-radical-coordinated transition-metal complexes synthesized by charge transfer, providing a new approach to access radicals of heavier main-group elements.
More Related Videos
06:53Author Spotlight: Magnetometric Characterization of Intermediates in the Solid-State Electrochemistry of Redox-Active Metal-Organic Frameworks
Published on: June 9, 2023
16:11Thermochemical Studies of NiII and ZnII Ternary Complexes Using Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry
Published on: June 8, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
Radical Reactivity: Overview
Radical Formation: Addition
Similar to charge conservation in chemical reactions, spin conservation is implicit for radical reactions. Accordingly, the product formed must possess an...
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...
Valence Bond Theory
Radical Formation: Abstraction
Even though homolysis produces radicals, it is different from radical...