Hydroxyl addition to aromatic alkenes: resonance-stabilized radical intermediates.

The spectra of 1-indanyl-based resonance-stabilized radicals containing a hydroxyl group are identified in an electrical discharge containing indene and its alkylated derivatives. It is argued that such species form by addition of a discharge-nascent hydroxyl radical, formed from trace water, to the π bond on the five-membered ring of the parent molecule. The spectral carriers are identified by analysis of their excitation and emission spectra guided by the results from quantum chemical calculations. All three hydroxylated radicals are found to exhibit origin bands in the 21300 cm(-1) region: the 2-hydroxy-indan-1-yl radical at 21364 cm(-1), the 2-hydroxy-2-methyl-indan-1-yl radical at 21337 cm(-1), and the 2-ethyl-2-hydroxy-indan-1-yl radical exhibiting two origins of similar intensity at 21287 and 21335 cm(-1).