Codex @codex  0

By Shree Sowndarya S. V., Peter C. St. John, Robert S. Paton.

Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry.

Published in Chemical Science, 12, 13158–13166.

Online text: pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2021/sc/d1sc02770k

Cited passages: A quantitative metric for organic radical stability and persistence using thermodynamic and kinetic features, Shree Sowndarya S. V., Peter C. St. John and Robert S. Paton, 2021: Abstract and Introduction, thermodynamic stabilization versus kinetic persistence.

Peter C. St. John coauthored research on radical.^[ref]

A radical has one or more unpaired electrons. In a simple atomic orbital or molecular orbital occupancy picture, an unpaired electron occupies a spatial orbital without an opposite-spin partner in that orbital. A dot such as ${\mathrm{H}}^{\bullet }$ marks this electronic property; it does not mean a missing electron or positive electric charge. Free radicals can be neutral or charged. Terminology also has a boundary: metal ions exhibiting paramagnetism are not normally called free radicals just because they have unpaired electrons.