β Scribed by W. Kraak; G.D Wals
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
EleGtrOphOretiG separation of some actinide and lanthanide elements"
Up to now, the data on the electrophoretic separation of lanthanide elements is rather scarcer, a. Therefore we have studied the potentialities of this method for separation between actinide and lanthanide elements. The study of the actinide elements was restricted to americium and curium, since, of the transplutonium elements, these two are the most difficult to separate by ion exchange techniques. The e1ectrophoresi.s apparatus was obtained from the Locarte company3. In this apparatus, z cm wide strips of Whatman 3 MM paper are sandwiched between two polished aluminium plates, 78 cm long. To provide electrical insulation, polythene sheets are placed between the paper strips and the metal plates. The metal plates are pressed together with a pressure of 6 p.s.i. and are cooled by the circulation of water through the plates. In our set-up the circulating water is cooled by a separate refrigerator, The ends of the paper strips are tapered to form wicks and dip in the electrode cells. A voltage, up to a maximum of 10,000 V, can be applied over the paper strips.
In our experiments, all the elements studied were radioactive and were used in tracer concentration, They were americium-241, curium-zqrt, cerium-144, europium-152 + 154, gadolinium-153, terbium-160 and thulium-170. The p-and y-emitting lantbanides were measured with a Geiger-Mtiller tube or with a NaI(Tl)-crystal. The CC-and y-emitting actinides were counted with a proportional counter or a scintillation counter. In many cases a 4oo-channel y-ray spectrometer was, used to check the separation.
After completion of the electrophoresis, the paper strips were cut into sections of 0.5 cm, which were counted for relative activities with the appropriate counter. Reproducibility of the measurements was quite satisfactory.
Various complexing agents in different concentrations were used in the experiments. In addition the solutions usually contained a buffer substance for stabilizing the acidity of the solution.
π SIMILAR VOLUMES
The Lanthanide Elements and ## Simple Binary Compounds By the end of this chapter you should be able to: r know how to prepare lanthanide metals and simple binary compounds such as the halides, oxides, and hydrides; r apply the principle of the lanthanide contraction to explain patterns in co-ord