Experimental data on photoconductivity in γ-irradiated 3-methylpentane glass are considered for the case when most radiation produced trapped electron forms geminate pairs with their parent positive ions. It is assumed that mobile electrons generated by photoexcitation of trapped electrons have an excess energy and there is a thermalized mobile precursor of stable trapped electrons which is governed by Smoluchowski's equation. The model allows to describe experimental data on photocurrent kinetics. It predicts that for germinate trapped electrons, apart from “free” or not germinate electrons, photocurrent dependes on the thermalization ranges of photoliberated electrons even if nonthermalized electrons are not affected by electric field.

Experimental results on increase of the probability of geminate ion pair separation into free ions caused by photoexcitation of trapped electrons in γ-irradiated 3-methylpentane glasses at 77 K are discussed. The increase is associated with injection of “hot” electrons in the medium. After thermalization the motion of the electrons is suggested to be governed by Smoluchowski's equation until stable trapped electron states occur. The dependence of the mean-square thermalization length on the electron energy in the interval 0.1–1.5 eV and the mean-square length (45 Å) of thermalized precursor of stable trapped electrons are estimated. It is concluded that electron localization precedes to total thermalization and is effective at electron energies <0.1 eV.

A comparison has been made of the experimental and calculated relative values of the efficiency of capture by the acceptor molecule of an electron generated by ionizing radiations (the α coefficient in Hummel's theory) in liquid hydrocarbons at room temperature; pentadecane, n-hexane, iso-octane and neopentane. For the experimental determination of the values of α the authors used the measurements of luminescence induced by a pulse of fast electrons in solutions of pyrene (1015−1016 cm−3) in hydrocarbons. Calculation of the values of α for the diffusion description of the process of recombination of an electron is based on the relation: α≈KSrm3/u, where KS is the rate constant of capture of an electron by the molecule of pyrene; u is the drift mobility of the electron; rm is the most probable distance of thermolysation of an electron. The values of KS and u for pentadecane and neopentane were determined by investigation of the electrical conductivity induced by a pulse of fast electrons in solutions of pyrene; for KS and u in the case of n-hexane and iso-octane and also for rm the published data were used. It is shown that while for hydrocarbons with relatively low mobility of the electron the calculated and experimental values of α agree, for the hydrocarbon with the highest mobility of the electron (neopentane) use of diffusion concepts for the calculation gives an overstated value of α.