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On the volatility of protactinium in chlorinating and brominating gas media

  • Heinz W. Gäggeler , Bernd Eichler , Dieter T. Jost and Robert Eichler EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: April 21, 2022
Radiochimica Acta
From the journal Radiochimica Acta Volume 110 Issue 6-9

Abstract

A multi-target recoil chamber technique was applied to study online chemical properties of protactinium in chlorinating and brominating gas media using 226Pa (T 1/2 = 1.8 min) decaying by alpha emission (74%) and β+/EC decay (26%). A 58 MeV proton beam passing 15 × 50 μg/cm2 thick 232Th targets enabled production of 226Pa formed in the reaction 232Th(p,7n). Isothermal gas chromatography in quartz columns allowed for the determination of adsorption enthalpies of oxohalides and pure halides of Pa5+ compounds. On the basis of empirical correlations, these adsorption enthalpies (ΔH0 ads) could be converted to sublimation enthalpies (ΔH0 subl). Resulting values for the assumed compounds PaCl5, PaOCl3, PaBr5, and PaOBr3 were 113 ± 15, 329 ± 16, 165 ± 5 and 235 ± 17 kJ/mol, respectively. These values are rather similar to known ΔH0 subl data for group-5 elements Nb, Ta and Db in support of the assumption that Pa is a pseudo-group 5 element.

Keywords: gas phase chemistry; halides; oxohalides; protactinium; thin target production
Corresponding author: R. Eichler, Labor für Radiochemie, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland, E-mail:

Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted to the crew of the PSI-Philips cyclotron for providing intense and stable proton beams throughout the entire experiment. Supply of the Th targets by the target laboratory of GSI Darmstadt is highly appreciated.

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: None declared.

  3. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

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Received: 2021-11-24
Accepted: 2022-02-18
Published Online: 2022-04-21
Published in Print: 2022-06-27

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial: Diamond Jubilee Issue
  3. Sixty years of Radiochimica Acta: a brief overview with emphasis on the last 10 years
  4. A. Chemistry of Radioelements
  5. Five decades of GSI superheavy element discoveries and chemical investigation
  6. Chemistry of the elements at the end of the actinide series using their low-energy ion-beams
  7. Sonochemistry of actinides: from ions to nanoparticles and beyond
  8. Theoretical insights into the reduction mechanism of neptunyl nitrate by hydrazine derivatives
  9. The speciation of protactinium since its discovery: a nightmare or a path of resilience
  10. On the volatility of protactinium in chlorinating and brominating gas media
  11. The aqueous chemistry of radium
  12. B. Energy Related Radiochemistry
  13. Selective actinide(III) separation using 2,6-bis[1-(propan-1-ol)-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]pyridine (PyTri-Diol) in the innovative-SANEX process: laboratory scale counter current centrifugal contactor demonstration
  14. Fate of Neptunium in nuclear fuel cycle streams: state-of-the art on separation strategies
  15. Uranium adsorption – a review of progress from qualitative understanding to advanced model development
  16. Targeted synthesis of carbon-supported titanate nanofibers as host structure for nuclear waste immobilization
  17. Progress of energy-related radiochemistry and radionuclide production in the Republic of Korea
  18. C. Nuclear Data
  19. How accurate are half-life data of long-lived radionuclides?
  20. Status of the decay data for medical radionuclides: existing and potential diagnostic γ emitters, diagnostic β+ emitters and therapeutic radioisotopes
  21. An overview of nuclear data standardisation work for accelerator-based production of medical radionuclides in Pakistan
  22. An overview of activation cross-section measurements of some neutron and charged-particle induced reactions in Bangladesh
  23. Nuclear reaction data for medical and industrial applications: recent contributions by Egyptian cyclotron group
  24. Nuclear data for light charged particle induced production of emerging medical radionuclides
  25. D. Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals
  26. The role of chemistry in accelerator-based production and separation of radionuclides as basis for radiolabelled compounds for medical applications
  27. Production of neutron deficient rare earth radionuclides by heavy ion activation
  28. Evaluation of 186WS2 target material for production of high specific activity 186Re via proton irradiation: separation, radiolabeling and recovery/recycling
  29. Special radionuclide production activities – recent developments at QST and throughout Japan
  30. China’s radiopharmaceuticals on expressway: 2014–2021
  31. E. Environmental Radioactivity
  32. A summary of environmental radioactivity research studies by members of the Japan Society of Nuclear and Radiochemical Sciences
https://doi.org/10.1515/ract-2021-1128
Keywords for this article
gas phase chemistry; halides; oxohalides; protactinium; thin target production

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial: Diamond Jubilee Issue
  3. Sixty years of Radiochimica Acta: a brief overview with emphasis on the last 10 years
  4. A. Chemistry of Radioelements
  5. Five decades of GSI superheavy element discoveries and chemical investigation
  6. Chemistry of the elements at the end of the actinide series using their low-energy ion-beams
  7. Sonochemistry of actinides: from ions to nanoparticles and beyond
  8. Theoretical insights into the reduction mechanism of neptunyl nitrate by hydrazine derivatives
  9. The speciation of protactinium since its discovery: a nightmare or a path of resilience
  10. On the volatility of protactinium in chlorinating and brominating gas media
  11. The aqueous chemistry of radium
  12. B. Energy Related Radiochemistry
  13. Selective actinide(III) separation using 2,6-bis[1-(propan-1-ol)-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]pyridine (PyTri-Diol) in the innovative-SANEX process: laboratory scale counter current centrifugal contactor demonstration
  14. Fate of Neptunium in nuclear fuel cycle streams: state-of-the art on separation strategies
  15. Uranium adsorption – a review of progress from qualitative understanding to advanced model development
  16. Targeted synthesis of carbon-supported titanate nanofibers as host structure for nuclear waste immobilization
  17. Progress of energy-related radiochemistry and radionuclide production in the Republic of Korea
  18. C. Nuclear Data
  19. How accurate are half-life data of long-lived radionuclides?
  20. Status of the decay data for medical radionuclides: existing and potential diagnostic γ emitters, diagnostic β+ emitters and therapeutic radioisotopes
  21. An overview of nuclear data standardisation work for accelerator-based production of medical radionuclides in Pakistan
  22. An overview of activation cross-section measurements of some neutron and charged-particle induced reactions in Bangladesh
  23. Nuclear reaction data for medical and industrial applications: recent contributions by Egyptian cyclotron group
  24. Nuclear data for light charged particle induced production of emerging medical radionuclides
  25. D. Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals
  26. The role of chemistry in accelerator-based production and separation of radionuclides as basis for radiolabelled compounds for medical applications
  27. Production of neutron deficient rare earth radionuclides by heavy ion activation
  28. Evaluation of 186WS2 target material for production of high specific activity 186Re via proton irradiation: separation, radiolabeling and recovery/recycling
  29. Special radionuclide production activities – recent developments at QST and throughout Japan
  30. China’s radiopharmaceuticals on expressway: 2014–2021
  31. E. Environmental Radioactivity
  32. A summary of environmental radioactivity research studies by members of the Japan Society of Nuclear and Radiochemical Sciences
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