Radiolysis of Liquid Nitrous Oxide: Alcohol and Carbonyl Additives

Methanol, ethanol, acetaldehyde, and acetone were added separately over wide concentration ranges to liquid nitrous oxide at 183 K. The oxygen and nitrogen dioxide yields were reduced from their G values of 2.7 and 5.6, respectively, to 0 by < 8 mol% organic solute. The nitrogen yield decreased from 13.1 to about 11 over the same concentration region, but continued to decrease as the nitrous oxide was progressively diluted by the solute. The results are consistent with the previous mechanism II. The nitrogen yields from dilute solutions of nitrous oxide in the carbonyl compounds are smaller than those from similar solutions in the alcohols. The smaller yields are attributed to electron scavenging by the carbonyl compounds in competition with the nitrous oxide.