Positronium Formation in Solid Long-Chain Alkanes

This paper represents a fragment of systematic studies on positron annihilation in solid saturated hydrocarbons (alkanes, paraffins) from C17H36 to C30H62. The Tao–Eldrup model and its extensions allow to identify the places in the crystalline structure where positronium is trapped, and estimate respective trap sizes. In the rigid phase I positronium locates mainly in two-dimensional empty spaces between the lamellae of crystal structure. Additional free volumes exist in high temperature phases due to appearance of n-alkane conformers representing a non-planar molecule distortion. The rise of ortho-positronium intensity with the sample irradiation dose, which was seen earlier in polymers, is observed also in n-alkanes. One can find similarities between the ortho-positronium annihilation in crystalline alkanes and polymers, like exponential character of that rise, and the trap bleaching by illumination. It confirms the same origin of the intensity growth, i.e. the accumulation of trapped electrons. Two kinds of electron traps were found. The time constant of electron accumulation in the traps depends on the carbon chain length and varies with temperature in different way for evenand odd-numbered alkanes.