Tritium exchange reactions on irradiated silica gel. Part I. Activation of molecular tritium and application to the tritium labelling of aliphatic hydrocarbons

Abstract

The radiation-induced colour in silica gel is bleached when tritium gas is admitted and this bleaching process activates the tritium in such a way that when a hydrocarbon is later admitted it becomes labelled. Best yields (up to 130 mCi g^–1) are obtained for aliphatic hydrocarbons having a methyl group attached to a tertiary carbon atom, often with a high degree of radiochemical purity. The number of tritium atoms incorporated appears to be comparable with the number of F centres in the irradiated silica gel.