The Mercury Photosensitized Polymerization of Acetylene and Acetylene-d2

Abstract

The mercury photosensitized polymerization of acetylene and acetylene‐d₂ has been studied. The rate of reaction is 30 percent greater with acetylene than with the deuterocompound, over the whole pressure range investigated. At low pressures, the rate varies as the acetylene pressures but in the pressure range 0.7–4 cm the initial rate of polymerization is practically independent of the acetylene pressure and determined by the intensity of absorbed resonance radiation. The quantum yield is approximately 6.5 for acetylene and 5 for acetylene‐d₂ lower than the yield for acetylene at the same temperature in the photochemical reaction (λ∼2000A). The results are also compared with corresponding studies of the polymerization process under the influence of α‐particles.