Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Speciation and Bioavailability Measurements of Environmental Plutonium Using Diffusion in Thin Films
Published on: November 9, 2015
Determination of the diffusion coefficient and solubility of radon in plastics
D Pressyanov1, S Georgiev, I Dimitrova
1Faculty of Physics, University of Sofia St. Kliment Ohridski, 5 James Bourchier Blvd, 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria. pressyan@phys.uni-sofia.bg
Abstract:
This paper describes a method for determination of the diffusion coefficient and the solubility of radon in plastics. The method is based on the absorption and desorption of radon in plastics. Firstly, plastic specimens are exposed for controlled time to referent (222)Rn concentrations. After exposure, the activity of the specimens is followed by HPGe gamma spectrometry. Using the mathematical algorithm described in this report and the decrease of activity as a function of time, the diffusion coefficient can be determined. In addition, if the referent (222)Rn concentration during the exposure is known, the solubility of radon can be determined. The algorithm has been experimentally applied for different plastics. The results show that this approach allows the specified quantities to be determined with a rather high accuracy-depending on the quality of the counting equipment, it can be better than 10 %.
Related Concept Videos
Extraction: Partition and Distribution Coefficients
For extracting a solute from an aqueous phase into an organic...
Gas Solubility
Kohlraush’s Law and its Applications
Solubility Equilibria
The...
Physical Properties Affecting Solubility
As for any solution, the solubility of a gas in a liquid is affected by the attractive intermolecular forces between solute and solvent species. Unlike solid and liquid solutes, however, there is no solute-solute intermolecular attraction to overcome when a gaseous solute dissolves in a liquid solvent since the atoms or molecules comprising a gas are far separated and experience negligible interactions. Consequently, solute-solvent interactions are the sole...
Ideal Solutions

