The Conversion of Oxygen in Compounds to Water for Isotopic Analysis by a Density Technique

Abstract

A method is described which enables oxygen in numerous compounds to be isolated in the form of water as a preliminary step to the determination of the isotopic composition of the oxygen by a density technique. The oxygen in the compound is converted to carbon monoxide or dioxide. These gases are reduced by hydrogen in the presence of a pure nickel catalyst to yield water and hydrocarbons. A small memory effect is shown, but this is eliminated by the first sample put through the process. The process is carried out on a scale such that 1 mmole of water is produced for each reduction. The time involved is about 2 hr per sample.