Studies of chemistry of radical cations of perylene and tetracene by a flash-photolytic technique

Abstract

Perylene radical cations (Pe[graphic omitted]) and pyromellitic dianhydride radical anions (PyAnh[graphic omitted]) are formed when acetonitrile solutions of the parent compounds are flash-irradiated with visible light and are annihilated by biomolecular combination (R_r= 7.6 × 10⁹ 1 mol^–1 s^–1) which does not form any new products; similar reactions are observed for tetracene (Tt) and an equilibrium Pe·⁺+ Tt ⇌ Pe + T·⁺(K= 15) is established when a mixture of both hydrocarbons is used, the lifetime of radical cations being greatly increased by the addition of Fe³⁺(ClO₄^–)₃ but not by the addition of AgClO₄.