Radicals, the highly reactive species, gain stability by undergoing three different reactions. The first reaction involves a radical-radical coupling, in which a radical combines with another radical, forming a spin‐paired molecule. The second reaction is between a radical and a spin‐paired molecule, generating a new radical and a new spin‐paired molecule. The third reaction is radical decomposition in a unimolecular reaction, forming a new radical and a spin‐paired...

A bond can be broken either by heterolytic bond cleavage to form ions or homolytic bond cleavage to yield radicals. A fishhook arrow is used to represent the motion of a single electron in homolytic bond cleavage. There are two main sources from which radicals can be formed:
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...

A bond is formed between two atoms by sharing two electrons. When this bond is broken by supplying sufficient energy, either two electrons can be taken up by one atom forming ions by the cleavage called heterolysis, or the two electrons are shared by two atoms, with one each creating radicals by the cleavage called homolysis.

The electron of an atom can be abstracted from a compound by a relatively unstable radical to generate a new radical of relatively greater stability. For example, an initiator which forms radicals by homolysis can abstract a suitable species like a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom from a compound to generate a new radical. This ability of radicals to propagate by abstraction is a crucial feature of radical chain reactions.
Even though homolysis produces radicals, it is different from radical...

The skeletal structure of polymers synthesized via radical polymerization is always branched. For example, the polymerization of ethylene by radical polymerization results in a low-density grade of polyethylene with a heavily branched skeletal structure. Here, the radical site abstracts hydrogen from the growing chain, and the radical site shifts from the end (a primary carbon center) to anywhere within the growing chain (a secondary carbon center). Consequently, the part of the chain from the...

Radical substitution reactions can be used to remove functional groups from molecules. The hydrogenolysis of alkyl halides is one such reaction, where the weak Sn–H bond in tributyltin hydride reacts with alkyl halides to form alkanes. Here, the reagent Bu3SnH yields tributyltin halide as a byproduct.
The bonds formed in this reaction are stronger than the bonds broken, making it energetically favorable. The reaction follows a radical chain mechanism similar to radical halogenation reactions,...