temperature in a high concentration. Radon difluoride and hydrogen gas( Reaction 3) only react spontaneously at 500 ℃, meaning the formation of unreacted radon will not proceed frequently at ambient conditions.
Rn + F 2 → RnF 2
( 2)
RnF 2
+ H 2
→ Rn + 2HF( 3)
Radon has been found to be oxidized by halogen fluorides at standard temperatures allowing the unbonded radon to form radon fluorides and halt the decay process of radon-222.
In a 1972 study, both liquid bromine tetrafluoride and halide-containing solid complexes were exposed to radon, under controlled conditions. Reaction 4( X = ClF, BrF 3, BrF 5, IF 7; Z = Cl 2, BrF, BrF 3, IF 5) shows one of the types of halide-containing complexes studied. Among the tested compounds, BrF 3 proved to be the more effective oxidizing agent for radon in these conditions. After exposure to BrF 3, no radon or emission particles were found within the testing chamber. Varying levels of effectiveness were found for each of the studied reactions, based on differences in electronegativity and their tendency to serve as an oxidizing agent.
Rn + X → RnF 2
+ Z( 4)
Though the development of these reaction pathways is helpful in the study of radon, many of these cannot be effectively used to remove radon from homes due to their high sensitivity to moisture. However, these findings have furthered the research in this field by proving radon can in fact react with halogens if the conditions are optimized.
Charcoal Adsorption Charcoal has been theorized as a material for adsorbing radon, first appearing in the literature in 1959. A radon removal system containing charcoal beds in which radon in the air is