Abstract
0.05 mole dm−3, O2-free aqueous solutions of urea were studies after receiving various doses of60Co gamma rays (0.14–600 kGy). Urea was found to be relatively stable under radiation; its radiation chemical yield of decomposition was 0.47. Hydrogen (G=0.50), carbon dioxide (G=0.44), ammonia (G=0.22), oxalic acid (G=0.0054), malonic acid (G=0.000064) and three unidentified oligomers were found to be the main radiolytic products. The origin of these products is explained by free radical reactions initiated by the transients from water radiolysis (H·,·OH,e −aq ).
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Navarro-González, R., Negrón-Mendoza, A. & Chacón, E. The γ-irradiation of aqueous solutions of urea. Implications for chemical evolution. Origins Life Evol Biosphere 19, 109–118 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01808145
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01808145