The effect of aliphatic alcohol additives on the radiolytic degradation of TODGA in Isopar-M

The radiolysis of solutions of TODGA (N,N,N′,N′-tetra-n-octylamide of diglycolic acid) in mixtures of Isopar-M (iso-paraffins C13–C14) with n-nonanol or n-decanol at 500 kGy leads to predominant decomposition of TODGA. The radiation-chemical yield of this process is 0.4–0.5 μmol J−1. The main products of the direct effect of ionizing radiation on TODGA are N,N-dioctylacetamide and 2-hydroxy-N,N-dioctylacetamide. The indirect effect of ionizing radiation is mainly due to reactions with alkoxy radicals and leads to the breaking of the C–N and C–C bonds in the α-position relative to the carbonyl group. An increase in the alcohol content in the solution results in the increase of the variety of radiolytic products, in the enhancement of gas evolution, and in the increase in the yield of TODGA decomposition. The replacement of n-decanol with n-nonanol does not significantly affect the radiolytic stability of the solutions.