By means of the mass spectrograph he had invented, Francis William Aston in 1927 observed that the line for hydrogen corresponded to an atomic weight on the chemical scale of 1.00756. This value differed by more than the probable experimental error from the value based on the combining weights of hydrogen compounds, 1.00777. Other workers showed that the discrepancy could be removed by postulating the existence of a hydrogen isotope of mass 2 in the proportion of one atom of 2H (or D) to 4,500 atoms of 1H. The problem interested the U.S. chemist Harold C. Urey, who from theoretical principles predicted a difference in the vapour pressures of hydrogen (H2) and hydrogen deuteride (HD) and thus the possibility of separating these substances by distillation of liquid hydrogen. In 1931 Urey and two collaborators detected deuterium by its atomic spectrum in the residue of a distillation of liquid hydrogen. Deuterium was first prepared in pure form by the electrolytic method of concentration: when a water solution of an electrolyte, such as sodium hydroxide, is electrolyzed, the hydrogen formed at the cathode contains a smaller fraction of deuterium than the water, and thus deuterium is concentrated in the residue. Almost pure deuterium oxide (D2O, heavy water) is obtained when the solution is reduced to 0.00001 of its original volume. Deuterium can be concentrated also by the fractional distillation of water and by various chemical exchange reactions such as the following (g and 1 indicate gaseous and liquid states, respectively): H2O(g) + HD(g) ⇌ HDO(g) + H2(g); HDO(g) + H2S(g) ⇌ HDS(g) + H2O(g); NH3(l) + HD(g) ⇌ NH2D(l) + H2(g).
Tritium (T) was first prepared in 1935 by bombarding deuterium (in the form of deuterophosphoric acid) with high-energy deuterons (deuterium nuclei):
Tritium is present in minute concentrations in natural water. It is formed continuously in the upper atmosphere by cosmic-ray-induced nuclear reactions. Cosmic rays, consisting mainly of high-energy protons, react with nitrogen atoms to form neutrons, which in turn react with more nitrogen atoms to form tritium:
This naturally formed tritium ends up in the form of water and reaches the surface of Earth in rain. Tritium is radioactive; it has a half-life of 12.5 years, decaying to a very soft (low energy) negative beta particle (electron; the positive beta particle is called a positron) and a helium-3 nucleus. When a sample of water is stored, it gradually loses its tritium because of radioactive decay. Thus by analyzing water for its tritium content, it is possible to elucidate details of water circulation among oceans, the atmosphere, rivers, and lakes. Tritium is made artificially in nuclear reactors by the reaction of thermal neutrons with lithium:
Corresponding compounds of the hydrogen isotopes differ slightly in their physical properties. This difference is shown by the properties of the waters, listed in the Table, and of the elements, listed in the following Table. The same is true of their chemical properties, both thermodynamic and kinetic. Both deuterium and tritium are useful as isotopic tracers for the investigation of chemical structures and of reaction mechanisms. Generally the value of a tracer arises from the fact that, although its difference in mass or its radioactivity permits its detection, it is essentially active in the same way that the ordinary atoms of the element are. For most elements, a change of one or of a few mass units is such a small percentage of the total mass that the chemical differences between isotopes are negligible. For hydrogen, however, chemical reactions involving the different isotopes proceed at measurably different rates. These kinetic-isotope effects can be utilized in detailed studies of reaction mechanisms. The rates of reactions of compounds containing deuterium or tritium are usually less than those of the corresponding compounds of ordinary hydrogen.
| hydrogen oxide | deuterium oxide | tritium oxide | |
|---|---|---|---|
| density at 25 degrees Celsius in grams per millilitre | 0.99707 | 1.10451 | — |
| melting point, degrees Celsius | 0 | 3.81 | 4.49 |
| boiling point, degrees Celsius | 100 | 101.41 | — |
| temperature of maximum density, degrees Celsius | 3.98 | 11.21 | 13.4 |
| maximum density in grams per millilitre | 1.00000 | 1.10589 | 1.21502 |
The replacement of hydrogen by deuterium in biological systems can markedly alter the delicately balanced processes. It has been established that neither plants nor animals continue to live and thrive in water containing deuterium oxide in high concentrations.
Deuterium and tritium are of interest in connection with thermonuclear (fusion) reactions. The explosion of a hydrogen bomb involves the collision and fusion of light nuclei, including deuterium and tritium. Should a method be found for controlling such fusion processes, as was done with the fission process of the earlier atomic bomb, the raw material for a practically unlimited supply of energy would be available in the deuterium content of water. Such fusion reactions are the source of solar energy.
Deuterium oxide is useful in nuclear reactors as a moderator to slow down but not appreciably capture neutrons. It has the advantage of being a liquid that absorbs neutrons only slightly.