Radiolysis

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Radiolysis is the dissociation of molecules by radiation. It is the cleavage of one or several chemical bonds resulting from exposure to high-energy flux. For example water dissociates under alpha radiation into hydrogen and oxygen. The chemistry of concentrated solutions under ionizing radiation is extremely complex. Radiolysis can locally modify redox conditions, and therefore the speciation and the solubility of the compounds.

Of all the radiation-chemical reactions that have been studied, the most important is the decomposition of water. Water when exposed to radiation undergoes a breakdown sequence into hydrogen peroxide, hydrogen radicals and assorted oxygen compounds such as ozone which when converted back into oxygen releases great amounts of energy. Some of these are explosive. This decomposition is produced mainly by the alpha particles, that can be entirely absorbed by very thin layers of water. The current interest in nontraditional methods for the generation of hydrogen has prompted a revisit of radiolytic splitting of water, where the interaction of various types of ionizing radiation (α, β, and γ) with water produces molecular hydrogen. This reevaluation was further prompted by the current availability of large amounts of radiation sources contained in the fuel discharged from nuclear reactors. This spent fuel is usually stored in water pools, awaiting permanent disposal or reprocessing. The yield of hydrogen resulting from the irradiation of water with β and γ radiation is low (G-values = <1 molecule per 100 electronvolts of absorbed energy) but this is largely due to the rapid reassociation of the species arising during the initial radiolysis. If impurities are present or if physical conditions are created that prevent the establishment of a chemical equilibrium, the net production of hydrogen can be greatly enhanced.

Another approach uses radioactive waste as an energy source for regeneration of spent fuel by converting sodium borate to sodium borohydride. By applying the proper combination of controls, stable borohydride compounds may be produced and used as hydrogen fuel storage medium.

Gas generation by radiolytic decomposition of hydrogen-containing materials, has been an area of concern for the transport and storage of radioactive materials and waste for a number of years. Potentially combustible and corrosive gases can be generated while at the same time, chemical reactions can remove hydrogen, and these reactions can be enhanced by the presence of radiation. The balance between these competing reactions is not well known at this time.

A suggestion has been made by R Bogdanov and Arno-Toomas Pihlak of the Saint Petersburg State University that in the early stages of the Earth's development when its radioactivity was almost two orders of magnitude higher than at present, radiolysis could have been the principal source of atmospheric oxygen, which ensured the conditions for the origin and development of life. Molecular hydrogen and oxidants produced by the radiolysis of water may also provide a continuous source of energy to subsurface microbial communities (Pedersen, 1999).

[edit] Pulse radiolysis

Pulse radiolysis is a recent method of initiating fast reactions to study reactions occurring on a timescale faster than approximately one hundred microseconds, when simple mixing of reagents is too slow and other methods of initiating reactions have to be used.

The technique involves exposing a sample of material to a beam of highly accelerated electrons, where the beam is generated by a LINAC. It has many applications. It was developed in the late 1950s and early 60s by John Keene in Manchester and Jack W. Boag in London.