Reactivity of radicals CCl3(CH2CHR)n (R=H,CH3, Cl; n=1, 2) in addition reactions with unsaturated compounds

Using EPR spectroscopy, the rate constants for the addition of radicals CC1₃(CH₂· CH₂)_n, (R¹ for n=1 and R² for n=2), CCl₃CH₂CHCH₃ (R³), and CCl₃CH₂CHCl (R⁴) to unsaturated compounds CH₂=CHX (X=C₆H₅, COOCH₃, CN) and CH₂=C(CH₃)Y (Y=C₆H₅, COOCH₃) at 22C have been determined. The radicals R¹ and R² exhibit ambiphilic, and R⁴ electrophilic character towards the selected unsaturated compounds. It has been shown that the presence of the CCl₃ group in the -position of the radical center has little effect on the reactivity of the radical. Replacement of a hydrogen on the -carbon in radical R¹ by a CH₃ group or chlorine atom leads to a considerable reduction in the rate of addition of the radicals to the unsaturated compounds examined.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 548–554, March, 1991.