Highly sensitive detection of neodymium ion in small amount of spent nuclear fuel samples using novel fluorescent macrocyclic hexadentate polyaminocarboxylate probe in capillary electrophoresis-laser-induced fluorescence detection

Saito, Shingo*; Sato, Yoshiyuki*; Haraga, Tomoko   ; Nakano, Yuta*; Asai, Shiho; Kameo, Yutaka ; Takahashi, Kuniaki ; Shibukawa, Masami*

A rapid and high-sensitive detection method of total concentration of Nd ion in a spent nuclear fuel sample is desirable since precise quantification of total Nd is useful as indicator of burnup. In this work, a capillary electrophoresis-laser-induced fluorescent detection method (CE-LIF) was proposed for analysis of total Nd in the spent fuel sample solution, employing a newly synthesized metal fluorescent probe with a fluorescein and a macrocylic hexadentate chelating group, FTC-ABNOTA, for lanthanide (Ln) ions. The mutual separation among the Ln-FTC-ABNOTA complexes was achieved by pH control providing dynamic ternary complexation with hydroxide ions. In this method, high resolution of Nd from other Ln ions with high resolution of 1.3-1.9 and a very low detection limit of 3.2 ppt were successfully obtained. A simulated spent fuel sample containing various metal ions was examined, so that a good quantification result with 99.3% recovery was obtained even with large excess of U.