Deuterium Enrichment by Selective Photo-Induced Dissociation of an Organic Carbonyl Compound

摘要

A method is described for producing a deuterium enriched material by photo-induced dissociation which uses as the working material a gas phase photolytically dissociable organic carbonyl compound containing at least one hydrogen atom bonded to an atom which is adjacent to a carbonyl group and consisting of molecules wherein the hydrogen atom is present as deuterium and molecules wherein the hydrogen atom is present as another isotope of hydrogen. The organic carbonyl compound is subjected to intense infrared radiation at a preselected wavelength to selectively excite and thereby induce dissociation of the deuterium containing species to yield a deuterium enriched stable molecular product. Undissociated carbonyl compound, depleted in deuterium, is preferably redeuterated for reuse. (ERA citation 04:029497)