EPR and DFT studies of the one-electron reduction product of phospholium cations.

Cyclic voltammetry and EPR spectroscopy show that cationic phospholium groups are good electron acceptors whose reduction leads to a neutral radical where the unpaired electron is mainly delocalized on the carbon atoms of the five-membered ring. DFT calculations together with the crystal structure of phospholiums indicate that the electron addition causes a drastic diminution of the exocyclic CPC angle. The SOMO of reduced phospholium is compared to the SOMO of the phosphole radical anion.