The photons take charge: Elucidating the structure and stability of distonic radical anions by mass spectrometry and photoelectron spectroscopy

最近的研究发现，某些自由基阴离子具有违反化学惯例的电子构型，并表现出异常的自由基稳定性。利用这一突破首先需要实验阐明这些化合物的内在电子结构，以及它如何与它们的显着性能。本项目将通过修改仪器，使多步气相离子合成与阴离子光电子能谱有效地结合起来，探索自由基阴离子的基本结构和能量学。这些研究对于揭示自由基化学和生物学中这种现象的范围是至关重要的，并且可以为未来开发用于聚合的新催化剂提供信息。

Recent work has discovered that certain radical anions have electronic configurations that defy chemical convention and exhibit exceptional radical stability. Exploitation of this breakthrough first requires experimental elucidation of the intrinsic electronic structure of these compounds and how it relates to their remarkable properties. This project will probe the fundamental structure and energetics of radical anions by modifying instrumentation to enable multi-step gas-phase ion synthesis to be efficiently coupled with anion photoelectron spectroscopy. These investigations are essential to revealing the scope of this phenomenon in free radical chemistry and biology and could inform future development of new catalysts for polymerisation.