Radiation sensitized chain reactions. Aqueous nitrous oxide and 2-propanol

The radiolysis of aqueous solutions containing 2-propanol and nitrous oxide was examined in the temperature range 513 to 5830K. The yields of nitrogen and acetone at 5730K were G(N2) = G(acetone) = 1100. The high yields are explained by a radiation induced chain process. The proposed mechanism involves the transfer of an oxygen atom from N2O to a .C(CH3)2OH radical producing .OC(CH3)2OH. The supporting evidence for the mechanism is a linear dependence of G(N2) and G((CH3)2CO) on the square root of both the N2O and the 2-propanol concentrations, a linear dependence of the G values on D/sup -1/2/ for large dose rates, and the same Arrhenius parameters for both G(N2) and G(