Abstract
The importance of isotope separation has increased due to the wide use of isotopes in both energy- and life-science-oriented applications1. This, coupled with our observation2 that the solution electron affinities3 of perdeuterated hydrocarbons are less than those of corresponding undeuterated species, led us to investigate the possibility of isotopic enrichment through electron exchange equilibria. Here we report the observation that nitrobenzene containing 15N has a higher affinity for solvated electrons in liquid ammonia than does nitrobenzene containing the most common isotope of nitrogen (14N). When an equal-molar mixture of 14N-nitrobenzene (PhNO2-14N) and 15N-substituted nitrobenzene (PhNO2-15N) is added to a solution of solvated electrons in liquid ammonia, the anion radical of PhNO2ā15N is formed predominantly over that of PhNO2-14N. Furthermore, as the chemical and physical properties of the resulting anion radicals (PhNO2-15Nā. and PhNO2-14Nā.) are very different from those of the neutral molecules, the electron exchange equilibrium between these two isotopic species can be utilized to enrich samples selectively with respect to the two isotopic species. Analogous results have been observed for the case of benzophenone-12C and benzophenone-13C (carbonyl 13C).
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References
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Stevenson, G., Espe, M., Reiter, R. et al. Isotopic enrichment by electron exchange. Nature 323, 522ā523 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/323522a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/323522a0
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