The Role of Carbonium Ions in Color Reception

It is a fundamental property of conjugated systems to accept a proton or Lewis acid and form a stable carbonium ion. Polyenes that are protonated or add Lewis acids in this manner undergo substantial red shifts. For example, vitamin A₁ acetate absorbs at 350 mµ in neutral and at 650 mµ in acidic benzene solution. The fundamental basis for absorption of polyene systems was described in detail in quantum mechanical terms. Applying the carbonium ion treatment to the visual chromophores retinal₁ and retinal₂ gives a very satisfactory explanation why these polyenes can be made to absorb in the visual region. Furthermore, by proper placement of the Lewis acid several absorption maxima can be gained from the carbonium ions which result. This treatment can be applied to explain experimental results. Individual cones from the frog are now known to absorb at 455, 537, and 625 mµ. If the value for the green cone (537 mµ) is used to calculate the V_o value in Kuhn's equation, the other two wave lengths may then be calculated. The calculated values are 460 and 600 mµ; this is in good agreement with the results from experiment.