A series of -alkane liquids, pentane to hexadecane, have been irradiated with 800 kvp. electrons. The hydrogen yield, (H2) ™ 4.9, was found to be independent of the length of the carbon atom chain, whereas the methane yield decreased with increase in the length of the carbon atom chain. Infrared analysis has shown that the unsaturation produced is largely trans vinylene with a smaller amount of vinyl. Gas-liquid partition chromatography has shown that three primary product groups are formed: a dimer group, an intermediate group between the dimer and parent, and degradation group. These results show that C-C bond scission is an important process, contrary to conclusions based only on gas analysis.
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