Influence of nuclear spin on chemical reactions: Magnetic isotope and magnetic field effects (A Review)

Abstract

The course of chemical reactions involving radical pairs may depend on occurrence and orientation of nuclear spins in the pairs. The influence of nuclear spins is maximized when the radical pairs are confined to a space that serves as a cage that allows a certain degree of independent diffusional and rotational motion of the partners of the pair but that also encourages reencounters of the partners within a period which allows the nuclear spins to operate on the odd electron spins of the pair. Under the proper conditions, the nuclear spins can induce intersystem crossing between triplet and singlet states of radical pairs. It is shown that this dependence of intersystem crossing on nuclear spin leads to a magnetic isotope effect on the chemistry of radical pairs which provides a means of separating isotopes on the basis of nuclear spins rather than nuclear masses and also leads to a magnetic field effect on the chemistry of radical pairs which provides a means of influencing the course of polymerization by the application of weak magnetic fields.