ABSTRACT
The electronic structure of donor and acceptor components is more or less predictable and the general relationship between, for example, structure and donor strength or structure and stability of ion radicals, is quite familiar to organic chemists. The design of new “electronic structures” is not only quite possible but represents the main trend of current research activities in the field. Ionradical species, formed by oxidation of a donor, reduction of an acceptor, or electron transfer from a donor to an acceptor, might undergo further transformations, such as dimerization, fragmentation, and reactions with solvent, moisture, or oxygen from air. Heterocycles such as furane, thiophene, and pyrrole have rather moderate donor ability. An extensive body of information on oxidation potentials of organic compounds, usually determined by cyclic voltammetry, is available. The determination of electron affinity of neutral acceptors is not so straightforward as the determination of the ionization potential of neutral donors.
