Photoinduced conduction in n-hexane

Abstract

The conductivity of liquid n-hexane can be increased by photoionizing the liquid itself or by photostimulating an immersed cathode. In particular, the latter method has been used to measure the mobility of negative charge carriers in the liquid. Although photoelectrons were taken to be injected at the cathode surface, the mobility values have been found to be typical of ions1, 2 (10−3–10−4cm2V−1sec−1). Since photoionization has sometimes been mistaken for photoinjection, the investigation presented here was aimed at distinguishing between the two processes.3 It has been confirmed that the removal of dissolved air from the liquid aids photoionization, and that photo-injection requires the use of specially active cathodes.