Anion-exchange experiments of nuclear reaction products transported by He/KCl and He/KF gas-jet systems

Kasamatsu, Yoshitaka; Toyoshima, Atsushi; Tsukada, Kazuaki  ; Asai, Masato  ; Ishii, Yasuo; Nishinaka, Ichiro; Sato, Tetsuya   ; Li, Z.; Kikuchi, Takahiro; Nagame, Yuichiro ; Goto, Shinichi*; Haba, Hiromitsu*; Akiyama, Kazuhiko*

Radioactive nuclides of Nb and Ta were produced in the Zr/Hf(p,xn)Nb/Ta and Ge/Gd(F,xn)Nb/Ta reactions at the JAEA tandem accelerator. The products were rapidly transported by He/KCl and He/KF gas-jet systems to the chemistry laboratory. It was found that the transport efficiency using the He/KF gas-jet system is comparable with that by the He/KCl gas-jet system which has been generally used. Subsequently, on-line anion-exchange experiments with the products were performed in HF/HNO solutions. A small physical adsorption of Nb on the surfaces of the tools was observed when the KCl aerosols were used, while better reproducibility of the elution of Nb was obtained using the KF aerosols. We interpret that stable fluoro complexes of Nb are rapidly formed by using the KF aerosols and we can suggest that the He/KF gas-jet system should be used in the on-line anion-exchange experiment of the group 5 elements for the study of the fluoride complexation of the elements.