Formation of 32P-labelled Polyphosphates in Reactor-irradiated Solutions of Orthophosphate

Aqueous solutions of potassium orthophosphate were reactor irradiated and analysed by electrophoresis. The resulting distributions of 32P-activity in phosphorus oxyanions resemble the ones obtained with reactor-irradiated solid phosphates. Even in dilute solutions, polymers are formed; their total yield increases with the concentration of the irradiated solution and varies in a complicated way with the pH.

These observations and some experiments with addition of radical scavengers indicate that oxidation of the 32P-recoils by OH-radicals is an important step in the polymerization. It is suggested that the actual formation of a P&z.sbnd;O&z.sbnd;P bridge takes place as an addition of a Lewis acid to a lone pair of electrons on a phosphate ion.