Chromatographic separation of neodymium isotopes by using chemical exchange process

The neodymium isotope effects were investigated in Nd–malate ligand exchange system using the highly porous cation exchange resin SQS-6. The temperature of the chromatographic columns was kept constant at 50 °C by temperature controlled water passed through the columns jackets. The separation coefficient of neodymium isotopes, ?’s, was calculated from the isotopic ratios precisely measured by means of an ICP mass spectrometer equipped with nine collectors as ion detectors. The separation coefficient, ? × 10⁵, were calculated and found to be 1.4, 4.8, 5.4, 10.6, 16.8 and 20.2 for ¹⁴³Nd, ¹⁴⁴Nd, ¹⁴⁵Nd, ¹⁴⁶Nd, ¹⁴⁸Nd and ¹⁵⁰Nd, respectively.