CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE PHOTOLYSIS OF UF6 MOLECULES IN A MIXTURE WITH HYDROGEN BY RADIATION FROM A REPETITIVELY PULSED CF4 LASER

Uranium hexafluoride molecules were photolysed in the presence of hydr ogen by focused radiation from a repetitively pulsed CF4 laser (lambda = 16 mu m) with an energy of similar to 100 mJ per pulse and a pulse repetition rate 2-3.5 Hz. In the presence of hydrogen the yield of the photolysis of UF6 molecules was an order of magnitude higher than wit hout hydrogen and the number of molecules photolysed per pulse was 3 - 5.5 times higher than their number in a zone where the radiation dens ity exceeded the dissociation threshold. This effect was attributed to laser activation of UF6 molecules inside and outside this zone, and t o a subsequent reaction of the activated molecules with hydrogen. In t he presence of hydrogen the yield of the photolysis of UF6 molecules d ecreased from pulse to pulse practically proportionally to the change in the density of UF6 molecules, which was the result of reactions of the newly formed hydrogen radicals with activated and nonactivated UF6 molecules. The rates of these reactions depended quadratically on the UF6 density before each pulse.