Studies of characteristics of adsorption and radiolysis of methane on an aluminum-oxide surface by IR spectroscopy in diffusely scattered light

The method of IR spectroscopy in diffuse scattered light was used to study adsorption and heterogeneous radiation-induced transformations of methane (deuteromethane) on an aluminum γ-oxide surface. It is found that under the action of γ-quanta the CH₄ adsorption centers appear on the γ-Al₂O₃ surface at room temperature, following the molecular and dissociative mechanisms. It is shown that hydrocarbon decomposition products, aluminum hydrates, and surface hydroxyl groups are produced in radiolysis. A mechanism of radiolytic processes in γ-Al₂O₃+ ads. CH₄(CD₄) systems is suggested on the basis of the present experimental results. Here and in what follows γ-forms of Al₂O₃ are meant. Sector of Radiological Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaidzhan Republic, 31a, G. Dzhavid Ave., Baku, 37143, Azerbaidzhan. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 65, No. 1, pp. 34–39, January–February, 1998.