Production and isolation of homologs of flerovium and element 115 at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry

New procedures have been developed to isolate no-carrier-added (NCA) radionuclides of the homologs and pseudo-homologs of flerovium (Hg, Sn) and element 115 (Sb), produced by 12-15 MeV proton irradiation of foil stacks with the tandem Van-de-Graaff accelerator at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (CAMS) facility. The separation of ¹¹³Sn from ^natIn foil was performed with anion-exchange chromatography from hydrochloric and nitric acid matrices. A cation-exchange chromatography method based on hydrochloric and mixed hydrochloric/ hydroiodic acids was used to separate ¹²⁴Sb from ^natSn foil. A procedure using Eichrom TEVA resin was developed to separate ¹⁹⁷Hg from Au foil. These results demonstrate the suitability of using the CAMS facility to produce NCA radioisotopes for studies of transactinide homologs. (author)