Nano-crystalline zirconia. A viable adsorbent for the column chromatographic separation of 58Co from neutron irradiated nickel targets

This paper described the utility of tetragonal nano-zirconia (t-ZrO2) for the column chromatographic separation of 58Co from 58Ni(n, p) reaction in neutron irradiation of natural Ni target. A careful scrutiny of the adsorption parameters of t-ZrO2 was systematically carried out to arrive at the optimum separation conditions. The radiochemical procedure developed herein consisted of selective retention of 58Co from an acidic solution of neutron irradiated Ni target on a chromatography column containing t-ZrO2 followed by elution of 58Co in 0.1 M HCl, which was validated using real samples. The overall recovery of 58Co was >90 % with appropriate radiochemical and radionuclide purity. (author)