Reduction of Eu by multiphoton excitation in alcohol solutions

Matsuda, Shohei; Nakashima, Nobuaki*; Yokoyama, Keiichi; Yatsuhashi, Tomoyuki*; Chosrowjan, H.*; Taniguchi, Seiji*; Somekawa, Toshihiro*

no journal, , 

The photoredox reactions of lanthanides as a photochemical separative technique proposed in the 1970s are expected to be applied for recovery and recycling of rare metals and nuclear fuel reprocessing. In this study, Eu ions in methanol and ethanol solutions were reduced to Eu ions upon irradiation with nanosecond laser pulses. Eu was observed when the laser wavelength was tuned to f-f transition bands at 394 and 465 nm. The formation rate of Eu was proportional to the square of the incident laser intensity, indicating that the photoreduction is induced by a two-photon process. The efficiency of the photoreduction in ethanol was higher than that in methanol.