EPR Investigation on a Quantitative Analysis of Eu(II) and Eu(III) in LiCl/KCl Eutectic Molten Salt

Abstract

EPR spectroscopic technique was applied for a quantitative analysis of Eu(II) for a speciation of europium in a LiCl-KCl eutectic melt. By adopting the first absorption line of each isotopes (151Eu and 153Eu), a calibration plot was obtained. The calibration of the EPR intensity shows a good linearity according to the amount of Eu(II). The EPR intensity was identified to increase proportionally with a decrease of the attenuation parameter for EPR microwave power. The fluorescence technique was used qualitatively to find whether either of Eu(II) or Eu(III) ions exists in a molten salt sample. The ICP-AES technique was also adopted to determine the total concentration of europium in the sample, since EPR is only sensitive for detecting the Eu(II) ion. The extent of the reduction of Eu(III) in the LiCl-KCl eutectic melt at 723 K was determined by using this technique.