The radiation chemistry of carbon monoxide at very high dose rates

Abstract

Carbon monoxide has been irradiated with single intense pulses from an electron accelerator at a dose rate of ~ 2 × 1027 eV g−1 s−1. The yield of carbon dioxide obtained was G(CO2) = 0.7 ± 0.1 with a very small yield of carbon suboxide, G(C3O2) ≤ 0.02.Addition of propene reduces the carbon dioxide yield to almost zero while addition of propane has no effect. This suggests that propene is acting as an oxygen atom scavenger rather than as a quencher of an excited state of carbon monoxide. However, rate constant data do not support this suggestion and it is concluded that the residual yield of carbon dioxide observed at high dose rates arises from reaction 9[Formula: see text]where CO+ is in an A2Π or B2Σ+ state.