Chemistry in Teaching: 90 Minutes of (Free) Radical Chemistry

Radikale, kemijske vrste s nesparenim elektronima, obično se smatra vrlo nestablinima, tako da ih se može pripraviti samo pod posebnim uvjetima i proučavati samo pomoću posebnih, vrlo skupih, instrumenata. Također ih se smatra štetnima te neprimjerenima za pokuse u školi. Ipak, radikali imaju ključnu ulogu u biološkim sustavima. Zahvaljujući nesparenim elektronima, obično su živo obojani, tako da se njihovo nastajanje često može opaziti golim okom. Ovdje je opisano nekoliko jednostavnih reakcijâ s biološki najvažnijim radikalom, semikinonom. Lako ih je izvesti u školskom laboratoriju uporabom male količine jeftinih i bezopasnih tvari. Jednostavnim promatranjem tih reakcijâ dade se naučiti mnogo toga o kemiji (slobodnih) radikala. Ovo djelo je dano na korištenje pod licencom Creative Commons Imenovanje 4.0 međunarodna.Radicals, chemical species with unpaired electrons, are usually believed to be very unstable; they can be prepared only under special conditions, and can be studied using only special, very expensive, instruments. They are also believed to be harmful, and that they should be kept away from school laboratories. However, radicals have a crucial role in biological reactions. Due to their unpaired electron(s), radicals have a distinct colour, so their appearance may be easily detected. Several simple reactions involving the biologically most relevant radical, semiquinone, are described. They can be easily performed in a school laboratory, using small quantities of cheap, harmless substances. A great deal of radical chemistry can be learned by simple observation of these reactions. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License