| Abstract | The isomerization of 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenyl, which occurs by quantum-mechanical tunneling of a hydrogen atom from an ortho tert-butyl group,5 occurs at the same rate in matrices as in solution. The rate of this process has been measured at temperatures down to 28 K. At such low temperatures the rate is virtually independent of temperature. Tri-tert-(perdeuteriobutyl)phenyl decays by deuterium atom tunneling at the same rate in matrices as in solution. A number of less hindered aryls decay by intermolecular hydrogen abstraction from the surrounding medium. However, octamethyloctahydroanthracen-9-yl decays by intramolecular hydrogen tunneling, even though the corresponding deuterated radical decays by reaction with the solvent. © 1978 American Chemical Society. |
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