Triphenylmethyl radical

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Triphenylmethyl radical
Triphenylmethyl radical.svg
Triphenylmethyl radical ball.png
Names
Preferred IUPAC name
Triphenylmethyl
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
PubChem CID
  • InChI=1S/C19H15/c1-4-10-16(11-5-1)19(17-12-6-2-7-13-17)18-14-8-3-9-15-18/h1-15H Yes check.svgY
    Key: OHSJPLSEQNCRLW-UHFFFAOYSA-N Yes check.svgY
  • c1ccc(cc1)[C](c1ccccc1)c1ccccc1
  • C1=CC=C(C=C1)[C](C1=CC=CC=C1)C1=CC=CC=C1
Properties
C19H15
Molar mass 243.329 g·mol−1
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
Yes check.svgY  verify  (what is  Yes check.svgYX mark.svgN ?)

The triphenylmethyl radical (often shorted to trityl radical) is an organic compound with the formula (C6H5)3C. It is a persistent radical. It was the first radical ever to be described in organic chemistry. Because of its accessibility, the trityl radical has been heavily exploited. [1]

Contents

Preparation and properties

It can be prepared by homolysis of triphenylmethyl chloride 1 by a metal like silver or zinc in benzene or diethyl ether. The radical 2 forms a chemical equilibrium with the quinoid-type dimer 3 (Gomberg's dimer). In benzene the concentration of the radical is 2%. [2]

Triphenylmethyl radical TriphenylmethylRadical.png
Triphenylmethyl radical

Solutions containing the radical are yellow; when the temperature of the solution is raised, the yellow color becomes more intense as the equilibrium is shifted in favor of the radical (in accordance with Le Chatelier's principle).

When exposed to air, the radical rapidly oxidizes to the peroxide, and the color of the solution changes from yellow to colorless. Likewise, the radical reacts with iodine to triphenylmethyl iodide.

Triphenylmethyl radical oxidation Triphenylmethyl radical oxidation.png
Triphenylmethyl radical oxidation

While the trityl radical forms a quinoid dimer, derivatives thereof with the appropriate substitution pattern do form dimers with a hexaphenylethane structure. X-ray studies give a bond length of 1.67 Å for hexakis(3,5-di-t-butylphenyl)ethane. Theoretical calculations on a very high level of theory indicate that van der Waals attraction between the tert-butyl groups create a potential minimum that is absent in the unsubstituted molecule. [3] [4] Other derivatives have been reported as the quinoid dimer [5]

History

The radical was discovered by Moses Gomberg in 1900 at the University of Michigan. [6] [7] [8] He tried to prepare hexaphenylethane from triphenylmethyl chloride and zinc in benzene in a Wurtz reaction and found that the product, based on its behaviour towards iodine and oxygen, was far more reactive than anticipated. The discovered structure was used in the development of ESR spectroscopy and confirmed by it. [9] [10] [11]

The correct quinoid structure for the dimer was suggested as early as 1904 but this structure was soon after abandoned by the scientific community in favor of hexaphenylethane (4). [12] It subsequently took until 1968 for its rediscovery when researchers at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam published proton NMR data. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tetrahedrane</span> Hypothetical organic molecule with a tetrahedral structure

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A non-Kekulé molecule is a conjugated hydrocarbon that cannot be assigned a classical Kekulé structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triphenylmethane</span> Chemical compound

Triphenylmethane, or triphenyl methane, is the hydrocarbon with the formula (C6H5)3CH. This colorless solid is soluble in nonpolar organic solvents and not in water. Triphenylmethane is the basic skeleton of many synthetic dyes called triarylmethane dyes, many of them are pH indicators, and some display fluorescence. A trityl group in organic chemistry is a triphenylmethyl group Ph3C, e.g. triphenylmethyl chloride (trityl chloride) and the triphenylmethyl radical (trityl radical).

In organic chemistry, hydroboration refers to the addition of a hydrogen-boron bond to certain double and triple bonds involving carbon. This chemical reaction is useful in the organic synthesis of organic compounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moses Gomberg</span> American chemist born in Russia

Moses Gomberg was a chemistry professor at the University of Michigan. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and served as president of the American Chemical Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prismane</span> Chemical compound

Prismane or 'Ladenburg benzene' is a polycyclic hydrocarbon with the formula C6H6. It is an isomer of benzene, specifically a valence isomer. Prismane is far less stable than benzene. The carbon (and hydrogen) atoms of the prismane molecule are arranged in the shape of a six-atom triangular prism—this compound is the parent and simplest member of the prismanes class of molecules. Albert Ladenburg proposed this structure for the compound now known as benzene. The compound was not synthesized until 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentacene</span> Hydrocarbon compound (C22H14) made of 5 fused benzene rings

Pentacene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon consisting of five linearly-fused benzene rings. This highly conjugated compound is an organic semiconductor. The compound generates excitons upon absorption of ultra-violet (UV) or visible light; this makes it very sensitive to oxidation. For this reason, this compound, which is a purple powder, slowly degrades upon exposure to air and light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbenium ion</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hexaphenylethane</span> Chemical compound

Hexaphenylethane is a hypothetical organic compound consisting of an ethane core with six phenyl substituents. All attempts at its synthesis have been unsuccessful. The trityl free radical, Ph3·, was originally thought to dimerize to form hexaphenylethane. However, an inspection of the NMR spectrum of this dimer reveals that it is in fact a non-symmetrical species, Gomberg's dimer instead.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dewar benzene</span> Chemical compound

Dewar benzene (also spelled dewarbenzene) or bicyclo[2.2.0]hexa-2,5-diene is a bicyclic isomer of benzene with the molecular formula C6H6. The compound is named after James Dewar who included this structure in a list of possible C6H6 structures in 1869. However, he did not propose it as the structure of benzene, and in fact he supported the correct structure previously proposed by August Kekulé in 1865.

The Stieglitz rearrangement is a rearrangement reaction in organic chemistry which is named after the American chemist Julius Stieglitz (1867–1937) and was first investigated by him and Paul Nicholas Leech in 1913. It describes the 1,2-rearrangement of trityl amine derivatives to triaryl imines. It is comparable to a Beckmann rearrangement which also involves a substitution at a nitrogen atom through a carbon to nitrogen shift. As an example, triaryl hydroxylamines can undergo a Stieglitz rearrangement by dehydration and the shift of a phenyl group after activation with phosphorus pentachloride to yield the respective triaryl imine, a Schiff base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triphenylmethyl chloride</span> Chemical compound

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gomberg's dimer</span> Chemical compound

Gomberg's dimer is the organic compound with the formula Ph2C=C6H5-CPh3, where Ph = C6H5. It is a yellow solid that is air-stable for hours at room temperature and soluble in organic solvents. The compound achieved fame as the dimer of triphenylmethyl radical, which was prepared by Moses Gomberg in his quest for hexaphenylethane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentamethyltantalum</span> Chemical compound

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cycloparaphenylene</span>

A cycloparaphenylene is a molecule that consists of several benzene rings connected by covalent bonds in the para positions to form a hoop- or necklace-like structure. Its chemical formula is [C6H4]n or C
6n
H
4n
Such a molecule is usually denoted [n]CPP where n is the number of benzene rings.

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References

  1. Tidwell, Thomas T. (2010). "Triarylmethyl and Related Radicals". Stable Radicals. pp. 1–31. doi:10.1002/9780470666975.ch1. ISBN   9780470666975.
  2. Smith, Michael B.; March, Jerry (2007), Advanced Organic Chemistry: Reactions, Mechanisms, and Structure (6th ed.), New York: Wiley-Interscience, ISBN   978-0-471-72091-1
  3. Lewars, Errol (2008), "8. Hexaphenylethane", Modeling Marvels, Springer, Bibcode:2008moma.book.....L
  4. Grimme, Stefan; Schreiner, Peter R. (2011). "Steric crowding can stabilize a labile molecule: Solving the hexaphenylethane riddle". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 50 (52): 12639–12642. doi:10.1002/anie.201103615. PMID   22025456.
  5. Uchimura, Y.; Takeda, T.; Katoono, R.; Fujiwara, K.; Suzuki, T. (2015). "New Insights into the Hexaphenylethane Riddle: Formation of an α,o-Dimer". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 54 (13): 4010–4013. doi:10.1002/anie.201500122. PMID   25704856.
  6. Gomberg, M. (1900). "An instance of trivalent carbon: triphenylmethyl". Journal of the American Chemical Society . 22 (11): 757–771. doi:10.1021/ja02049a006.
  7. Gomberg, M. (1901). "On trivalent carbon". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 23 (7): 496–502. doi:10.1021/ja02033a015. (Note: radical is also called a cadicle.)
  8. Gomberg, M. (1902). "On trivalent carbon". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 24 (7): 597–628. doi:10.1021/ja02021a001.
  9. Weissman, S. I.; Sowden, John C. (1953). "Electron distribution in triphenylmethyl: Hyperfine structure of the paramagnetic resonance absorption of (C6H5)3C13*". Journal of the American Chemical Society . 75 (2): 503. doi:10.1021/ja01098a522.
  10. Sinclair, J.; Kivelson, D. (1968). "Electron spin resonance studies of substituted triphenylmethyl radicals". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 90 (19): 5074–5080. doi:10.1021/ja01021a004.
  11. "ESR spectrum of the triphenylmethyl radical". School of Chemistry, University of Bristol. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  12. McBride, J. M. (1974). "The hexaphenylethane riddle". Tetrahedron . 30 (14): 2009–2022. doi:10.1016/S0040-4020(01)97332-6.
  13. Lankamp, H.; Nauta, W. Th.; MacLean, C. (1968). "A new interpretation of the monomer–dimer equilibrium of triphenylmethyl- and alkyl-substituted-diphenyl methyl-radicals in solution". Tetrahedron Letters . 9 (2): 249–254. doi:10.1016/S0040-4039(00)75598-5.