Abstract: Radical philicity and polar effects are key concepts underpinning radical reactivity and selectivity. In general, the radical species can be divided into two classes, namely, electrophilic and nucleophilic, on the basis of its reactivity, atom electronegativity, and stability of the resulting species through electron gain or loss. In this article we aim to establish guidelines for understanding radical philicity from different carbon-centered and heteroatom-centered radicals and we accompany our discussion with representative synthetic examples.

Key words: Radical, Nucleophilicity, Electrophilicity