USE OF ION-EXCHANGE CHROMATOGRAPHY TO ISOLATE AND STUDY THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF THE LATER TRANSPLUTONIUM ELEMENTS

The advantages of using chromatographic methods to separate and study the physiochemical properties of transplutonium elements (TPE) with Z > 100 are demonstrated. The possibilities are examined for developing new highly effective methods for ion-exchange isolation of TPE in vari ous oxidation states taking into account factors that stabilize unstab le valences: the nature of oxidant (reductant), presence of a strong c omplexant, nature of solvent, etc. Cation-exchange systems are propose d for separating Ku4+ from trivalent TPE and rare earths (RE) with hig h purification factors (> 10(4)) by continuous separation of Zr or Hf as analogs of Ku from Cf and Eu. Possibilities for studying the physic ochemical properties of the later TPE, identifying the oxidation state s, estimating the ionic radii, etc., are demonstrated by a study of th e ion-exchange behavior of Md(II) and analogs using a chromatographic method.