Researchers from the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology in Russia, the Golden Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Kurchatov Institute of the Russian National Science Center have developed a new method for preparing technetium from a solution of technetium compounds using electrochemical principles . Related research results were published in the journal "Electroanalytical Chemistry".
Technetium is a radioactive element formed by the natural decay of uranium and thorium ores. Technetium has a wide range of applications in the nuclear industry and medical fields. For example, technetium used in medicine is a metastable isotope of 99mTc with a half-life of 6 hours. This isotope of technetium is obtained directly from a portable nuclear generator. The working principle is to irradiate the molybdenum target through neutron flow, and then separate technetium from the resulting mixture in stages. The whole process is complicated and very expensive. Currently, technetium is prepared by chemical methods in industry.
Vitaly Kuznetsov, a professor at the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology in Russia, believes that if electrochemical methods are used instead of chemical methods to prepare technetium, and current is passed through the mixture, the preparation process can be simplified. He said that technetium has a variety of oxidation values. In the mixture obtained after irradiating the molybdenum target, the highest oxidation value of technetium is +7. The best way is to separate technetium as a metal with an oxidation value of 0, and then further follow Need to be separated.
Vitaly Kuznetsov said that when pertechnetate (KTcO4, the oxidation value of technetium is +7) is only soluble in water, it is impossible to obtain metal technetium. Because during the electrolysis process, a technetium oxide film is formed on the surface of the electrode, and this film does not conduct current, thereby preventing further reduction of technetium. He said that Russian researchers chose a different electrolyte: instead of pure water, an acetate solution with a constant pH value was used. In such a solution, technetium was reduced to an oxidation value of 0 and deposited on the electrode as a thin film. . However, X-ray spectroscopy shows that the technetium in these films is not in a metallic state, but in an amorphous state.
The researchers pointed out that in addition to nuclear medicine or radioactive waste treatment, the research results can also be used for other promising applications. For example, this method can be used to prepare technetium from spent nuclear fuel, and then extract the precious metal ruthenium-platinum from the nuclear reaction of technetium. These precious metals are now increasingly used in electronic products, but their reserves in the earth are very limited, and they are a very rare precious metal. (Reporter Dong Yingbi)
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