Slow proton exchange in water in the gas phase

To study proton exchange in water the technique of quantitative measurements of water content at very low concentrations of water in solutions or at low vapor pressure in the gas phase (for water content of 1–10 μg/ml) has been developed. Under these conditions the rate of proton exchange slows down significantly. In particular, in mixtures of H2O and D2O vapors under the pressure of a 10–17 mm Hg proton life-time during the exchange process reaches the values of 10–30 min. The lifetime was measured using the gradual slow growth of the signal intensity of the mixed isotopomer HDO.