Free Radical
A highly reactive species containing an unpaired electron.
Formula / equation
R·
Unit
Dimensionless
In depth
Radicals form by homolytic bond fission under heat, light or peroxide initiation. They are electrically neutral but electron-deficient, and they react by abstracting atoms or adding to pi bonds, each step regenerating another radical and so sustaining a chain reaction.
Examples in the real world
Chlorine radicals in methane chlorination; the radicals that cause polymer degradation and food rancidity.