Nuclear recoil reactions in organomanganese compounds. II. Methylcyclopentadienylmanganese tricarbonyl

Abstract

The study of nuclear recoil reactions in organomanganese compounds was continued in methylcyclopentadienylmanganese tricarbonyl, a liquid, following earlier conclusions that the recombination reactions may involve a radical diffusion mechanism. Only a very small annealing effect was observed, but that was similar to the earlier results in which a maximum organic yield is reached, followed by a return to the initial value. Results of irradiation in benzene solution show no decrease of organic yield on dilution, which is interpreted as indicating that ‘hot’ reactions do not play a major role. Results of irradiation in mixed benzene–acetone solutions show a sharp decrease in organic yield as small quantities of acetone are added, which suggests a radical-scavenging process. The observation made earlier that considerable CH₃Mn(CO)₅is produced in this reaction leads to the speculation that radicals of the form Mn(CO)_xare the reacting species.