Neutral mixed-valence organic monoradicals

With the aim of examining the possibility of synthesizing and utilizing neutral organic radicals exhibiting intramolecular electron transfer, cyclic mono-radicals consisting formally of one neutral and paramagnetic NO⋅ and one cationic and diamagnetic NO+, connected by an anionic BH2− and one or more CH2 groups, have been studied with emphasis placed on their stabilities and distribution of the lone electron. Accurate energy estimates suggest that, except for strained rings, the cyclic forms are stable with respect to ring opening and therefore represent a reasonable synthetic target for neutral mixed-valence compounds, the electron transfer rates of which should not critically depend on the environmental conditions.