ESR spectra of fluorine-containing radicals of phosphorus and arsenic

Abstract

ESR spectra observed at 120 K in γ-irradiated solid solutions of PF_5 in neopentane and AsF_5 in SF_6 are ascribed to the radical ions PF_5^− and AsF_5^− in which the unpaired electron interacts strongly with the central nucleus and with four equivalent ^(19)F nuclei. Hyperfine interaction with the fifth ^(19)F nucleus was not resolvable in either case. The spectra were quite distinct from those of the tetrafluorides PF_4 and AsF_4, thus eliminating the possibility that they were due to tetrafluoride radicals undergoing rapid intramolecular ^(19)F exchange.

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