Production and separation of no-carrier-added 73 As and 75 Se from 7 Li irradiated germanium oxide target

Abstract

Abstract This work reports for the first time 7Li-induced accelerator based production of 71,72,73,74As, 75,76,77Br and 73,75Se radionuclides in their no-carrier-added (nca) state. After the decay of all short-lived radionuclides 75Se and 73As were only existing radionuclides in germanium oxide target, which were subsequently separated by liquid-liquid extraction (LLX) using trioctylamine (TOA) dissolved in cyclohexane as liquid ion exchanger. The presence of stable germanium in various fractions was examined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Spectrometry (ICP-OES). At 0.1 M TOA and 10 M HCl concentration, 75Se and stable Ge were extracted into the organic phase leaving 73As in the aqueous phase. The bulk Ge was stripped back to the aqueous phase by 1 M NaOH, keeping 75Se in the organic phase. Therefore complete separation between 73As, 75Se and bulk Ge was achieved.