Absorbent property of fullerene for cesium isotope separation investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Sekiguchi, Tetsuhiro  ; Yokoyama, Keiichi  ; Uozumi, Yuki*; Yano, Masahiro   ; Asaoka, Hidehito  ; Suzuki, Shinichi; Yaita, Tsuyoshi

For nuclear transmutation of cesium-135 (Cs), which is long-lived fission product, we are developing selective absorbent which takes only Cs atom in, but does not CsI. In this study, absorbing property of Cs atom onto the surface of fullerene (C) film has been investigated using synchrotron-based angle-dependent X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results were compared with those of CsI. It was found that Cs penetrates into C deep bulk. In contrast, CsI deposits on shallow surface. Furthermore, XPS spectra were measured as a function of Ar-sputtering time in order to know Cs concentration profiles in deep region. Results showed that Cs penetrates into deep region of several hundreds .