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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
CHAPTER 12
Radicals
Important Terms
alkane
a hydrocarbon that contains only single bonds.
alkoxy radical
an alkoxy group with an unpaired electron on oxygen (RO·).
allylic radical
a species with an unpaired electron on an allylic carbon.
benzylic radical
a species with an unpaired electron on a benzylic carbon.
combustion
a reaction with oxygen that takes place at high temperatures and converts alkanes
(or other organic compounds) to carbon dioxide and water.
free radical
(radical)
an atom or a molecule with an unpaired electron.
heterolytic bond cleavage
(heterolysis)
breaking a bond with the result that both bonding electrons stay with one of the
previously bonded atoms.
halogenation reaction
the reaction of an alkane (or other organic compounds) with a halogen.
homolytic bond cleavage
(homolysis)
breaking a bond with the result that each of the atoms that formed the bond
gets one of the bonding electrons.
initiation step
the step in which radicals are created and/or the step in which the radical needed
for the first propagating step is created.
peroxide
a compound with an O
¬
O bond.
peroxide effect
peroxide causes the initial step in the addition of HBr to an alkene to be addition
of a bromine radical instead of a proton.
primary alkyl radical
an alkyl radical with the unpaired electron on a primary carbon.
propagation step
in the first of a pair of propagation steps, a radical reacts to produce another
radical that reacts in the second propagation step to produce the radical that was
the reactant in the first propagation step.
radical (often called a
free radical)
an atom or a molecule with an unpaired electron.
radical addition reaction
an addition reaction in which the first species that adds is a radical.
radical chain reaction
a reaction in which radicals are formed and react in repeating propagating steps.
radical inhibitor
a compound that traps radicals.