Kinetics of Positive-Charge and Electron Scavenging and the Kinetics of Charge Neutralization in the Radiolysis of Dielectric Liquids

Abstract

The kinetics of the scavenging of positive and negative species in spurs during the radiolysis of liquids is described. The motions of the positive ions, the solvated electrons, and the scavenger molecules are simultaneously taken into consideration. The kinetic equation contains two adjustable parameters, β and f, but in most instances f is taken as unity. The theory is tested, with moderate success, against previously published results of studies of positive-ion and electron scavenging in cyclohexane and n-hexane. The recently observed complexity of the kinetics of ion-neutralization reactions in liquid cyclohexane, after a pulse of radiation, is explained in terms of the same model as that used in the scavenging kinetics. It is concluded from the over-all success of the theory that solvated electrons form in suitable nonpolar molecular liquids, such as alkanes, during radiolysis. The terms ``thermal electron'' and ``spur'' are not used by all authors to mean the same things, so they are discussed in the Appendixes in the hope that the meanings of these terms will become more standardized. The quasifree, trapped, and solvated states of electrons are distinguished in Appendix A. A definition of the term ``spur'' is offered in Appendix B.