Nitrogen isotope equilibration on molybdenum

Abstract

The efficiency of a molybdenum wire as a catalyst for the nitrogen isotope equilibration reaction, ²⁸N₂+³⁰N₂= 2²⁹N₂, has been studied for filament temperatures between 800 and 1900°K and nitrogen pressures between 1.8 × 10^–7 and 1.8 × 10^–6 torr. The efficiency was essentially independent of pressure and passed through a maximum of about 1.4 % at 1300°K. The reaction took place only when the filament temperature was high enough to cause a measureable desorption of gas from a saturated filament.