Radiolysis of nitrite ion in the presence of bromate ion

The radiolysis of nitrite ion in the presence of bromate ion is studied. The disappearance of nitrite in pure nitrite solution is linear with the dose at the beginning and its concentration reaches a minimum, corresponding to a constant NO3-/NO2- ratio. In the presence of bromate however, there is a complete conversion of nitrite to nitrate, the dose being adequate at all nitrite concentrations studied. The G values of nitrate in 0.25 mM nitrite solution with and without bromate (5mM) are found to be 4.0 and 0.25 respectively. A mechanism consistent with the observed results is discussed. A 2.8 kCi 60Co γ-ray source was used in all experiments at a dose rate of 8 krad/min determined by a Fricke dosimeter corrected for the system under study. (F.Gy.)