Chemical procedure applied for the identification of Rf/Db produced in the 48Ca + 243Am reaction

A chemical separation procedure for Rf/Db is described which was applied to a long-lived decay product from the nuclear fusion reaction 48Ca+243Am. A 1.2 mg thick 243Am target was bombarded by 247 MeV 48Ca particles. The recoiling products were collected in a thick Cu catcher for about one day and then subjected to a chemical separation procedure that included an ion exchange from dilute HF solutions. Final samples were prepared on 30μg/cm2 thick polyethylene (PE) foils and counted in 4π-geometry for α-particles and spontaneous fission (SF) coincidences. The detector arrays were surrounded by 3He detectors to also assay prompt neutrons. Decontamination factors from actinides of about 105 were achieved. Group 6 (W) to 14 (Pb) elements as models for their heavier homologues were shown to be separated from the Rf/Db fraction with more than 90%. In eight final samples, representing a total beam dose of 3.4 x 1018 particles, 15 SF events were detected. The decay pattern points to a single component with a half-life of ∼32h, which shows a chemical behavior similar to the lighter homologues of group 4 and 5 elements. (orig.)