Recoil reactions in neutron-activated nickel carbonyl

Abstract

Retention of 65Ni in neutron-irradiated Ni(CO)4 has been measured both in the pure form and in n-heptane and Fe(CO)5 solutions, and mixed with triphenylphosphine [Formula: see text] in n-heptane solution. Retention was found to be nearly 100% in all cases except with high concentrations of Fe(CO)5, where the retention dropped off strongly. It is concluded that the high retention is the result of rapid exchange of CO with inactive Ni(CO)4. The effect of Fe(CO)5 is considered to be a hot-zone reaction. The presence of triphenylphosphinenickel tricarbonyl was found not to affect the retention in Ni(CO)4. This is taken to show that the 65Ni atoms formed in crystalline [Formula: see text] remain trapped in the lattice.