Chemical consequences of carbon and nitrogen implantation into LiH

The chemical consequences of carbon and nitrogen implantation into LiH were studied. 11C and 13N atoms were injected by nuclear recoil implantation following the processes 14N(p,α)11C and 16O(p,α)13N in BN/LiH and Al2O3/LiH powder mixtures with 13 MeV protons. The chemical products of the short-lived radioisotopes 11C and 13N were studied by radiochromatography. Main products were 11CH4 (65%) and 13NH3 (35%) together with 13NH (or 13NH2) radicals (65%). In a second attempt, 250keV 12C+ and 14N+ ions from an accelerator were implanted into LiH single crystalline plates at 6 K. The analysis was performed in situ by optical absorption spectroscopy in the visible and infrared spectral region. The formation of C-H and N-H bonds at low temperatures was confirmed. Carbon implants are more able than those of nitrogen to build up complete reaction products such as CH4. (author)