Free-radical carbon-carbon bond formation in organic synthesis.

Organic chemists have begun to use intra- and intermolecular free-radical addition reactions to develop useful synthetic transformations. Carboncentered radicals can form bonds with electron-rich or electron-deficient alkenes, allenes, and acetylenes. Radical addition reactions can also be used to construct hindered carbon-carbon bonds. These characteristics, as well as the large number of functional groups that tolerate free-radical conditions contribute to the importance of such reactions in organic synthesis.