LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHIC STUDY ON THE RADIOLYSIS OF PHENOL IN AQUEOUS-SOLUTION

Products formed by the radiolysis of phenol in aqueous solutions were analyzed using a high-pressure liquid chro-matograph, and the decomposition was discussed. Cobalt-60 was used as a radiation source. Experiments were done at room temperature, at a solute concentration of 10-3 mol/L, and over dose rate ranges of 105 to 5 × 105 rd/h in the oxygenated aqueous solution and 5 × 105 to 106 rd/h in the deaerated solution. In the oxygenated phenol solution, hydroquinone, pyrocatechol, hydroxyhydroquinone, and trace amounts of resorcinol and phloroglucinol were detected as products. On the other hand, hydroquinone, pyrocatechol, and small amounts of resorcinol and hydroxyhydroquinone were detected in the deaerated solution. It was shown that the decomposition rates of phenol, hydroquinone, and pyrocatechol were about 5-6 times larger in the oxygenated solution than in the deaerated. © 1979, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.