Modern concepts of the mechanism of the liquid-phase radiolysis of aliphatic hydrocarbons (survey)

Investigations of processes of radiolysis of hydrocarbons have been attracting the attention of scientists of many countries for many years. The methods of pulse radiolysis with optical, electrical, and ESR recording have yielded information on rapid reactions in which charged particles, excited molecules and radicals participate, while the use of the method of gas-liquid chromatography has made it possible to establish the composition and yields of the radiolysis products and the influence of such factors as temperature, does rate, and concentration of acceptors on the course of the processes. Up to this time, despite the available literature data, there has been no survey analyzing the mechanism of radiolysis. This article presents a brief examination of the properties of the elementary particles, the kinetics of the processes in which charged particles participate, and the general principles of the radiolysis of alkanes.