CL : Vol. 37 (2008) , No. 2 p.128

Making Stable Radicals of Heavy Elements of Groups 14 and 13: The Might of Silyl Substitution

Vladimir Ya. Lee¹⁾, Masaaki Nakamoto¹⁾ and Akira Sekiguchi¹⁾

1) Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba

(Received November 27, 2007)

Recent developments in the field of stable free radicals centered on the heavy elements of groups 14 and 13, neutral and charged, are covered in this review. The diagnostic geometrical characteristics and bonding features of the title species are presented. The thermodynamic and kinetic factors, affecting the stability and electronic configuration of radicals, are also discussed, with particular emphasis being given to the stabilizing influence of the bulky silyl substituents.

Recent developments in the field of the stable free radicals centered on the heavy elements of groups 14 and 13, both neutral and charged, are covered in the present review with a particular focus on the thermodynamic and kinetic stabilization of radical species with the bulky electropositive silyl substituents.