Radiation-chemical transformations of dicyclohexyl-18-crown-6 in aqueous solutions

The reaction of dicyclohexyl-18-crown-6 and 18-crown-6 with primary radiolysis products of water was studied by the pulsed radiolysis and EPR spectroscopy methods. Crown ethers are highly reactive with respect to H atoms and OH and O- radicals and slightly reactive with respect to hydrated electrons. The H atoms and OH and O- radicals dehydrogenate crown ethers without rupturing the cyclic structure to form a short-lived radical (λ/sub max/ = 260 nm). The secondary reactions of radicals are accompanied by the decomposition of the cyclic structure. The radiation-chemical yield of the decomposition of the crown ether molecules in aqueous solutions is 0.6 for 18-crown-6 and 0.9 for dicyclohexyl-18-crown per 100 eV