The Cryo-thermochromatographic Separator (CTS): A new rapid separation and alpha-detection system for on-line chemical studies of highly volatile osmium and hassium (Z=108) tetroxides
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abstract
The Cryo-Thermochromatographic Separator (CTS) was designed and constructed for rapid, continuous on-line separation and simultaneous detection of highly volatile compounds of short-lived -decaying isotopes of osmium and hassium (Hs, Z = 108). A flowing carrier gas containing the volatile species is passed through a channel formed by two facing rows of 32 -particle detectors, cooled to form a temperature gradient extending from 247 K at the channel entrance down to 176 K at the exit. The volatile species adsorb onto the SiO2-coated detector surfaces at a characteristic deposition temperature and are identified by their observed -decay energies. The CTS was tested on-line with OsO4 prepared from 169-173Os isotopes produced in 118,120Sn(56Fe, 3,4,5n) reactions. An adsorption enthalpy for OsO4 of -40.2 1.5 kJ/mol on SiO2 was deduced by comparing the measured deposition distribution with Monte Carlo simulations. This successful result demonstrates that such a system provides a viable means for the first chemical study of hassium - which is expected to be a homologue of osmium - by determining whether it forms a similarly volatile oxide. 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
