Primary processes in acetone radiolysis

Abstract

Acetone molecular ions, produced as primary species during electron beam irradiation of liquid acetone have been observed to exist in two kinetically distinguishable forms: (i) free ions which have escaped the spur and which decay by independent routes, and (ii) spur-ions which are confined by Coulombic interactions and decay in a geminate manner following a t^–½ expression.

Added solutes, shown to be reactive towards either free positive or free negative ions also prevent the formation of excited states of acetone excited molecules in a manner which shows that geminate recombination of ion-pairs is the process responsible for their formation.