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与化学惯例不同的电子构型，并表现出特殊的自由基稳定性。利用这一突破首先需要对这些化合物的内在电子结构进行实验阐明，以及它与它们的显著性质之间的关系。本项目将通过改进仪器，探索自由基阴离子的基本结构和能量学，使多步气相离子合成与阴离子光电子能谱有效耦合。这些研究对于揭示这种现象在自由基化学和生物学中的范围至关重要，并可以为未来新的聚合催化剂的开发提供信息。

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.