https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.F02506
- The heterolytic cleavage of a molecule according to the general reaction: where $\ce{{a}-b}$ is an electrofuge and $\ce{X}$ is a nucleofuge (which may emerge from the reaction in combined form), and the middle group affords the unsaturated fragment $\ce{c=d}$. For example,
- The breakdown of a radical into a diamagnetic molecule or ion and a smaller radical, e.g.
- The breakdown of a radical ion in a mass spectrometer or in solution, forming an ion of lower molar mass and a radical, e.g.
See also: fragmentation reaction