Experimental spin density in nitroxides

Abstract

Polarized neutron diffraction enables the spin density to be determined at any point of a free radical molecule. This technique has been applied to the di(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidinyl-1-oxyl) suberate, or tanol suberate, C8H12O4((CH3)4C5H5NO)2 which is a nitroxide free biradical. It has revealed an equal distribution of spin between nitrogen and oxygen, a result which is not completely understood for the moment. An orbital for the unpaired electron in a spin restricted molecular orbital description has been determined from the experimental data.