Effects of a Naphthyl Group upon the Stability of Aroyloxyl Radicals

Abstract 1-Naphthoyloxyl and 2-naphthoyloxyl radicals decarboxylate with higher activation energies than the unsubstituted benzoyloxyl radical (PhCO2·) particularly in acetonitrile, which indicates that the conjugative electron delocalization contributes to the stabilization of these radicals.