Radical Cations of Bilayer Nanographenes
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 4, 2025

Microscopic Visualization of Porous Nanographenes Synthesized through a Combination of Solution and On-Surface Chemistry
Published on: March 4, 2021
Wenqing Wang1, Peiyang Sun1, Xiangjun Liu1
1College of Chemistry and Material Science, Key Laboratory of Functional Molecular Solids, Ministry of Education, Anhui Laboratory of Molecule-Based Materials, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui 241002, China.
Abstract:
Chemical redox reactions of bilayer nanographene complexes, (C96H24Ar6)2 (Ar = 2,6-dimethylphenyl) (12) and (C42H12R6)2 (R = Bu) (22), were investigated. Upon two-electron oxidation reactions, 12 and 22 were transformed to radical cations 122•+ and 222•+, respectively. SQUID and EPR measurements on 122•+ and 222•+ indicate that they possess an open-shell singlet ground state with antiferromagnetic interactions between two layers. The shortest separation distance between bilayers in 222•+ (3.30 Å) is shorter than that in 22 (3.44 Å) and 22•+ (3.40 Å), illustrating stronger interaction upon loss of electrons.
Related Concept Videos
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: Nucleophilic Radicals
Radical Reactivity: Electrophilic Radicals
Radical Formation: Overview
Radicals from spin-paired molecules:
Radicals can be obtained from spin-paired molecules either by homolysis or electron transfer. While two radicals are formed in the former, an electron is added in the...
Radical Formation: Abstraction
Even though homolysis produces radicals, it is different from radical...
Radical Formation: Addition
Similar to charge conservation in chemical reactions, spin conservation is implicit for radical reactions. Accordingly, the product formed must possess an...

