Anelectron acceptor is a chemical entity that acceptselectrons transferred to it from another compound.[1] Electron acceptors areoxidizing agents.
The electron accepting power of an electron acceptor is measured by itsredox potential.[2]
In the simplest case, electron acceptors are reduced by one electron. The process can alter the structure of the acceptor substantially. When the added electron is highly delocalized, the structural consequences of the reduction can be subtle. The central C-C distance in the electron acceptortetracyanoethylene elongates from 135 to 143pm upon acceptance of an electron.[3] In the formation of some donor-acceptor complexes, less than one electron is transferred.TTF-TCNQ is acharge transfer complex.
Inbiology, aterminal electron acceptor often refers to either the last compound to receive an electron in anelectron transport chain, such as oxygen duringcellular respiration, or the last cofactor to receive an electron within the electron transfer domain of areaction center duringphotosynthesis. All organisms obtain energy by transferring electrons from an electron donor to an electron acceptor.[citation needed]
One practical illustration of the role of electron acceptors in biology is the hightoxicity of theparaquat. The activity of this broad spectrumherbicide results from the electron acceptor property of N,N'-dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridinium.[4]
In somesolar cells, the photocurrent entails transfer of electrons from a donor to an electron acceptor.[5]
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