Study of the solution chemistry of element 104 - kurchatovium

A rapid method of continuous isolation of kurchatovium from the products of bombardment of a 248Cm target with 18O ions has been developed. The nuclear reaction products were transported a distance of 10 meters from the target to an apparatus for chemical separation by means of a KCl aerosol jet. The aerosol particulates carrying adsorbed radionuclides were dissolved in 0.2 M HF and the solution was passed through three ion exchange columns. In the first cationic column the transplutonium and some other elements generated directly in the bombardment were removed from the solution. In model experiments, the decontamination factors of the Zr(Hf) fraction from rare earths and transplutonium elements in various solutions were determined; values as high as 105 to 106 were achieved. In the next, anionic column kurchatovium was sorbed, while the last, cationic, column retained the decay products of Ku. The identification of 261Ku(T1/2=65 s) was performed by observing its great-granddaughter 253Es (T1/2=20 d), after the latter (together with 253Fm) had been desorbed from the third column. In a 24-hour experiment some 2000 Ku atoms were produced; they were detected with the efficiency as high as 25%. It has been shown for the first time that in HF solutions Ku forms stable anionic complexes which are sorbed on an anion-exchange resin, i.e., the element behaves similar to Zr and Hf, the members of the IVth group of the transition metals. The method opens up the possibility of obtaining quantitative data on the properties of Ku in solutions. (orig.)