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Updated: Dec 30, 2025

Isolating Free Carbenes, their Mixed Dimers and Organic Radicals
Published on: April 19, 2019
Isolable cyclic radical cations of heavy main-group elements
Haiyan Cui1, Dengmengfei Xiao2, Li Zhang3
1Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Pesticide Science, College of Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China and State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China. gengwentan@nju.edu.cn xpwang@nju.edu.cn.
Abstract:
One-electron oxidation of 1,3-digerma-2,4-dipnictacyclobutadiene [LHGeE]2 (LH = CH[CHNDipp]2, dipp = 2,6-iPr2C6H3; 1: E = P; 2: E = As) with Ag[Al(ORF)4] (RF = C(CF3)3) afforded the stable radical cation salts 1˙+·[Al(ORF)4]- and 2˙+·[Al(ORF)4]-, respectively. The radical cation salts have been fully characterized, in conjunction with theoretical calculations. The EPR spectroscopic studies and DFT calculations reveal that the spin density mainly resides at the heavy pnictogen atoms, rather than delocalizes over the Ge2E2 ring. They represent the first structurally characterized cyclic radical species composed of both heavy group 14 and 15 elements.
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