SEPARATION OF A MULTITRACER FROM AN AU TARGET IRRADIATED WITH HIGH-ENERGY HEAVY-IONS BY MEANS OF A SUPPORTED LIQUID MEMBRANE

The transport of Au(III) and 19 other metal ions through a tributyl ph osphate (TBP)-decalin membrane supported on a microporous polytetraflu oroethylene sheet was studied in order to establish a procedure for re moving Au(III) ions from acid solutions of a gold target irradiated by high-energy heavy ions, leaving a multitracer solution in a carrier- and salt-free state. Distilled water was used as a stripping agent. A feed solution of 3 mol dm(-3) HCl gave the highest transport rate in t he 0.1-8 mol dm(-3) HCl range. The transport of carrier-free radioisot opes of Sc, Fe, Zr, Nb, Te, and Hf was observed for 8 mol dm(-3) HCl a nd that of Fe, Zr, Nb, and Te for 5 and 6 mol dm(-3) HCl, while their transport was not detected for 0.1 and 1 mol dm(-3) HCl feed solutions and was small with 3 mol dm(-1) HCl. The 3 mol dm(-3) HCl solution is considered to be the best feed solution for preparing a multitracer f rom an Au target, because of the large transport rate of Au(III) and t he negligible transport of other elements. The transport rates of Au(I II) ions from 0.2-2 mol dm(-3) HNO3 solutions are smaller than those f rom 1-6 mol dm(-3) HCl. On the basis of these observations, a practica l procedure was established for preparing a multitracer solution from a heavy-ion-irradiated Au target.