Photolytic and thermal annealing of radical anions gamma-irradiated monocarboxylic acids

Abstract

Total yields of paramagnetic species, their optical bleaching and thermal annealing in acetic, propionic, a-butyric, isobutyric, and pivalic acid γ-irradiated at 77 K were followed by ESR spectroscopy. Radical anions, always found after irradiation, disappear during optical bleaching without formation of any paramagnetic product. During thermal annealing they are converted almost quantitatively into the α-radicals of the respective acid, with the exception of pivalic acid. Amounts of radical anions were estimated from the difference of integrated ESR spectra taken before and after optical bleaching. The results show that approximately equal amounts of the reduction and oxidation paramagnetic products of the γ-irradiation can be detected.