RADIOLYSIS AND CORROSION IN COPPER-WATER FREE-VOLUME SYSTEM

Radiolysis was studied in the system of copper-water-free volume (air, oxygen, or vacuum), and the influence of the metal on the formation o f the major radiolysis products was determined. Upon gamma-irradiation (1.8 Gy/s), the rate of copper corrosion in water rises more than 30 times, increasing with the fraction of free volume. The yield of the r adiolytic hydrogen is almost an order of magnitude higher in the prese nce of the metal. A model based on the assumption that hydrogen peroxi de is the initiator of radiation-induced corrosion is proposed far the qualitative description of the copper-water-air system.