Optical pulse radiolysis cell and apparatus designed to study reactions in supercritical fluids

Abstract

The details of the construction of a high-pressure optical cell and flow apparatus for the study of pulse-radiolytically induced reactions in supercritical fluids are described. Application of pulse radiolysis and time-resolved absorption spectroscopy to near-critical dense gas and supercritical fluid allows for the generation and investigation of ionic transient species in these low dielectric media. Methodologies for sample preparation and pulse radiolysis of supercritical mixtures are described. Several aromatic carbocations have been generated in supercritical ethane and fluoroform and representative spectral and kinetic data are presented.