Evidence for weakly bound electrons in non-irradiated alkane crystals. The electrons as a probe of structural differences in crystals

Abstract: It is generally assumed that weakly bound (trapped) electrons in organic solids come only from radiolytical (or photochemical) processes like ionization caused by an excited positron entering the sample. This paper presents an evidence for the presence of these electrons in non-irradiated samples of docosane. We argue that these electrons can be located (trapped) either in interlamellar gaps or in spaces made by non-planar conformers. The electrons from the former ones are bound more weakly than those from the latter ones. The origin of Vis absorption for the samples is explained. These spectra can be used as a probe indicating differences in the solid structures of hydrocarbons.