Gas phase reactions of recoil carbon-14 in anhydrous ammonia

Radiative neutron capture reactions of nitrogen in anhydrous ammonia have been studied in the gas phase : An uniquely high and specific yield of methane-C-14 has been observed. This high yield of methaiie-C-14 as essentially the sole significant product from operations of the recoil carbon in gaseous ammonia was not affected by the addition of inert moderating gases. The presence of oxygen as radical scavenger did not produce any significant effects. Reactions of the: recoil carbon in the presence of methane and methylamine, however, gave a complex mixture of radioactive products.,All carbon-14 systems reported to date show the latter behavior. A process of hydrogen abstraction is proposed to account for the apparently unique result from the operations of the recoil carbon in the presence of ammonia in the gas phase. The nature of the recoil fragments is discussed and the possibility of a collision complex mechanism being operative is explored.