Free Radicals in Chemistry and Biology

Elementary radical reactions are described in terms of fundamental knowledge of organic chemistry and chemical physics in this valuable reference text. The complex radical processes of nonchain and chain mechanisms, such as dimerization, alkylation, polymerization, telomerization, halogenation pyrolysis, oxidation and combustion, are complemented by reactions in chemical lasers and in the cosmos, as well as by reactions in biological objects under normal or pathological metabolism. The text also provides the synthesis of facts from various fields of research and involves mechanisms where free radicals appear either as main or side intermediates in one of the several alternatives of the reaction pathway. Highlights include 38 tables and 39 figures.