Radiolysis of binary mixtures. Part VIII. Tritium Labelling by direct radiation synthesis. The methanol‐benzene system

Abstract

AbstractA novel synthesis of tritiated compounds is reported using the direct irradiation of an aromatic‐aliphatic mixture, one of the components of which is labelled with tritium. The irradiation of the methanoltritiated benzene system has been used to illustrate the principle of the technique. The gamma irradiation of methanolic solutions of tritiated benzene yields the following tritiated scavenging products, some of which are specifically labelled under certain conditions : anisole; 1,3 –‐ and 1,4‐cyclohexadienes; 2,5‐phenylcyclohexadiene; 1,3‐ and 1,4‐cyclohexadiene‐methanols. The potential of the method as a general tritium labeling tool is discussed and compared with conventional procedures. Although the absolute yields of the labelled products from direct irradiation are small for relatively large total radiation doses (megarads), scavenging by non‐labelled parent material can be used to give large chemical yields if required. The predominant advantage of the present method is that compounds labelled in specific positions with tritium can be obtained in a one‐step chemical process whereas this synthesis may be difficult by other conventional labelling methods.