Influence of Boiling on the Radiolysis of Diglyme

Abstract

The radiolysis of diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (diglyme) in a boiling state has been studied for the first time. Boiling facilitates the cleavage of internal C–O bonds, weakens the cage effect and diglyme regeneration processes, and facilitates the exchange and dimerization reactions of radicals. As compared with radiolysis at room temperature, the amount of unsaturated products of diglyme fragmentation formed during irradiation in the boiling state is smaller by a factor of 4, and the disproportionation products of heavy radicals are found in negligible amounts, if any. The yield of radiolytic decomposition of diglyme under boiling conditions is ∼15 molecule/100 eV, which is higher than that at room temperature by a factor of almost 1.5.