Mechanism of gas-phase degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by the action of ionizing radiation

The most comprehensive kinetic model for the gas-phase radiation-chemical degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is proposed on the basis of analysis of published data, which takes into account both the radical and ion-molecule mechanisms of the process. The model was verified by comparing the calculation results with the experimental data. It was shown that the efficiency of the process is lower in dry gas mixtures in which the ion-molecule mechanism plays the principal role in the degradation of aromatic molecules than in wet mixtures in which the radical mechanism dominates.