Separation of Hg-195(m,Hg-g),Hg-197m from bulk gold target by liquid-liquid extraction using hydrophobic ionic liquids

摘要

The Hg-195(m,Hg-g),Hg-197m radionuclides were produced in accelerator when natural Au foil was irradiated with 23 MeV protons. The no-carrier-added (NCA) Hg radioisotopes were separated from the bulk Au target by liquid-liquid extraction (LLX) employing hydrophobic RTILs 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium hexafluorophosphate([C-4 mim][PF6]) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide([bmim][Tf2N]) as extractant with HNO3 and HCl. In each case, bulk Au was extracted into the RTIL phase leaving NCA Hg-radionuclides in the aqueous phase. The RTILs were recovered by washing with 1 M K2S2O5 and freshly prepared 1 M FeSO4. The reported separation methods follow green chemistry approach as it does not involve any volatile reagents.