Problems Involved in the Elucidation of the Donor-Acceptor Nature of Substituents in Aromatic Sulfur-Containing Radical Anions

Abstract

Abstract A review of data in the literature indicates that the subdivision of substituents into donors and acceptors is of value for uncharged sulfur-containing aromatic compounds but appears somewhat useless for radical anions of the same molecules. A novel general approach is suggested for the characterization of the substituent effects in radical anions. The method employs correlation diagrams to evaluate the difference between the orbital energies of the aromatic moiety and the substituent. The approach is combined with a variety of experimental data and presented here.