Radical Placement

[inlovewithchemistry]

When you have a radical, how do you know where to place the one extra electron? Is it just in the place that would ensure the most stability about the central atom?

[Camille Marangi 2E]

In most cases there only ends up being one place for the radical/extra electron to be placed- I can't really think of a molecule where you have multiple options. Usually if we have say and nh3 ion, the extra electron goes on nitrogen because hydrogen can't physically take on another electron.

[Sapna Ramappa 1J]

It typically goes on the element like Nitrogen, in which the placement of the radical ensures stability of the atom. See whichever placement gives you a formal charge of 0 for each atom.

[Sabrina Ryu 3L]

The radical goes on the element that would have the formal charge closest to zero when the electron is added!