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The following gas chromatograph, taken from "Review of the different techniques to analyse tritium", labels all but the largest peak. Given that the analyte is likely to be from some source enriched with heavy isotopes of hydrogen, what is does that largest peak most-likely correspond to? 3He?

The aforelinked secondary source cites only two plausible primary sources, neither of which is available online:

  1. Bachelet, Fabre, Salmon, Brix, Tritium impurities measurements based on gas chromatography, Tritium 2016 conference, Charleston USA

  2. Tetsuo Tanabe Editor Tritium: Fuel of Fusion Reactors Springer 2017

A follow on question: para-H2 is about 25% of ortho-H2 and appear at different times. Why don't similar splits occur between the other isotopic combinations?

enter image description here

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    $\begingroup$ The link you provided is a secondary resource. Please consult the original work cite there. Nobody in the world can tell the identity of a peak by looking at this chromatogram. It is very much unlike NMR, IR or any other spectroscopic technique. $\endgroup$
    – ACR
    Commented Mar 7, 2023 at 6:20

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It may be HD, or hydrogen deuteride.

Hydrogen has a proton only nucleus. Ortho H2 nuclei are said to "spin" in the same direction, para H2 nuclei in opposite. Deuterium and tritium also have neutrons, which may prevent this type of subatomic behavior.

Apparently the difference between "ortho" and "para" H2 is enough to affect its affinity to the GC column$^1$.

$^1$ temperature has an effect on the ortho to para ratio. At 0 degrees K, it is all para. At room temperature, it is 3 ortho to one para.

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