Astatine is one of the least chemically studied elements. Its investigation is limited by absence of long-lived isotopes of this element along with only 29 cyclotrons worldwide capable of astatine production. However, investigators interested in Targeted Alpha Therapy consider <sup>211</sup>At to be one of the most promising radionuclides. The relatively short ~7.2 h half-life and convenient ~1 barn cross section of <sup>209</sup>Bi(α, 2n) reaction at ~29 MeV beam energy make this nuclide suitable for fundamental investigations. Any chemical experiment of this kind usually starts with dissolution of a metal Bi target in concentrated nitric acid with consequent conversion of this matrix to hydrochloric acid and, unfortunately, this delays the At recovery. The team at Texas A&M University has decided to improve and speed up the At separation by working directly with nitric acid solution. To reveal fundamental aspects of both At and Bi behavior under these conditions, a series of liquid-liquid extraction experiments has been performed and a set of conventional and non-conventional solvents has been tested. Based on mathematical analysis of observed data, corresponding thermodynamic parameters such as stability and extraction constants along with astatine speciation and reduction in the nitric acid media have been estimated. Details and results will be discussed.

Conventional and non-conventional solvents for astatine and bismuth separation

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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