ESR evidence for the formation of the ring-opened cation CH 2OCH 2± from ethylene oxide

Abstract

ESR results show that the radical cation formed from ethylene oxide in the solid state is the ring-opened 2-oxa-trimethylene cation with a symmetrical (C 2ν) planar structure similar to that of the isoelectronic allyl radical. In contrast, the trimethylene oxide radical cation retains the ring structure of the parent molecule and its ESR parameters are characteristic of an oxygen-centred species.