Fast on-line dissolution of KCl aerosol particulates for liquid-phase chemistry with homologues of superheavy elements

Abstract

Research orientated towards the liquid-phase chemistry of homologues of the SuperHeavy Elements (SHEs) has been carried out at the Department of Nuclear Chemistry, Czech Technical University (CTU) in Prague in the recent couple of years. As a part of this research, a versatile apparatus for on-line aqueous chemistry of SHEs and their homologues is under development. One of the key features of the apparatus is the direct dissolution of radionuclide-carrying aerosols from a gas phase into an aqueous phase. In this work we describe coupling of the Particle-Into-Liquid Sampler (PILS), originally developed as a sampling system for the determination of aerosol composition by ion chromatography, with the Gas-Jet Transport (GJT) system that delivers cyclotron-produced Nuclear Reaction Products (NRPs) from a Recoil-Transfer Chamber (RTC) to the laboratory. The NRPs delivered to the laboratory are in the form of species adsorbed onto the surface of solid KCl aerosol particulates (adsorption takes place in the RTC) and such a mixed phase must be promptly and effectively transferred into a stream of an aqueous phase, in order to account for extreme instability and scarcity of a superheavy element. Compared to systems that have been used for this purpose in the past, the experimental layout of PILS-GJT turned out to be very promising, as its pilot test provided sufficient PILS efficiencies (40%–58%) and a very high gas-liquid (V/V) mixing ratio (up to 5800). These parameters also make the system suitable for future coupling with various microfluidic chemistry systems.