Chromatography of atomic hydrogen

Abstract

During experiments to measure the diffusion of hydrogen atoms using a flow system, chromatographic retention of hydrogen atoms on the walls of the quartz tube was observed: possibly the first example of the chromatography of a highly chemically reactive species. In these experiments, the rate of adsorption and desorption can be obtained (and consequently the chromatographic partition coefficient, k′) as well as the diffusion coefficients and the rate of loss of H atoms by chemical reaction on the walls. The results show that the reversible adsorption of H atoms on a quartz surface is a more probable event than loss by reaction. This has important implications for the understanding of surface effects on gas-phase reactions in both static and flowing systems and could significantly effect the values of rate constants obtained experimentally.