Effect of AlO nanoparticles on radiolytic HO production in water

Roth, O.*; Hiroki, Akihiro; LaVerne, J. A.*

Hydrogen peroxide, HO, is the major stable oxidizing species produced in the radiolysis of water and understanding the mechanisms involved in its production is important both from a fundamental science perspective and for engineering purposes, in particular within the nuclear power industry. In this work, the yields of HO were determined in aqueous slurries in the pH range of 1-13 with various amounts of added AlO nanoparticles. The addition of AlO generally decreased HO yields at all pH values within this range in the radiolysis of both deaerated and aerated slurries, except at very high pH. Very little effect of pH was observed in the radiolysis of deaerated systems in the pH range of 3-8, whereas a large increase in HO yields was observed in aerated AlO slurries at the extreme pH values. Scavenger capacity studies using methanol as an OH radical scavenger show that the decrease in HO yields with added AlO occurs at relatively long time scales and is probably due to reaction of the solid nanoparticles with OH radicals.