Neutron activation analysis of impurities in thorium and zirconium matrices

A neutron activation method is described for the analysis of small concentrations of Cu, Cd, Mn, Co, Cr and Zn contaminants in thorium and zirconium compounds used for telecommunication and reactor techniques. The thorium matrix is separated from the contaminants by pre-irradiation paper chromatography and the²³³Pa is isolated after irradiation by extraction into methyl isobutyl ketone and precipitation with cupferron. For the analysis of the contaminant in zirconium compounds only precipitation with cupferron is used after irradiation. The individual impurities are determined by γ-spectrometry following separation.     

Concentration-data of elements in liquid fuel oils as obtained by neutron activation analysis

The selection of exciting source both from the point of view of excitation efficiency and elimination of matrix effects using incoherently scattered radiation from the analyzed sample is discussed. Samples of materials from the flotation process of copper ore have been used and copper, iron and lead were the elements sought. For the excitation of fluorescence X-rays, sealed radioisotopic sources of²³⁸Pu,²⁴¹Am,²⁴⁴Cm,¹⁰⁹Cd and a molybdenum X-ray tube were used. For X-ray analysis a Si(Li) spectrometer was applied. The processing of X-ray spectra based on the application of the Gaussian peak representation gives results equivalent to the total peak area method. From the intensities of fluorescence and scattered radiation, the contents of elements were calculated using empirical formulae and the results were compared with those of the Heinrich-Rasberry method. A statistical analysis of the results has been carried out and the criteria of optimal regression formula selection are given.     

Anion-exchange properties of composite ceramic membranes containing hydrated zirconium dioxide

Composite membranes consisting of an inert ceramic matrix based on aluminum and zirconium oxides and of an ion-exchange component, hydrated zirconium dioxide, were prepared. The selectivity of these membranes to Cl^? ions was studied.     

电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法测定二硼化锆中26种杂质

建立微波消解样品,电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法测定二硼化锆中26种杂质元素含量的方法。根据二硼化锆的化学组成对杂质检测的影响,确定了各元素最佳分析线;通过考察不同浓度的锆基体对待测元素的影响来确定最佳锆基体浓度;通过萃取法分离硼元素,消除硼对杂质检测的干扰;采用基体匹配法、多谱拟和技术消除了锆基体的干扰。在选定的仪器工作条件下,各待测元素的质量浓度与信号强度成良好的线性关系,线性相关系数均大于0.999。测定结果的相对标准偏差不大于6%(n=11),样品加标回收率为94%~101%。该方法操作简便,测定结果准确,可用于二硼化锆中26种杂质元素的测定。     

Synthesis of a new zirconium catalyst for ethylene polymerization

A novel complex dichlorobis(2‐ethyl‐3‐hydroxy‐4‐pyrone)zirconium(IV) (ZrCl₂(ethylpyrone)₂) was synthesized. Complexation of the pyrone ligand to the zirconium was confirmed by UV, ¹H and ¹³C‐NMR, and electrochemical studies. NMR showed the presence of four isomers and density functional theory calculations indicated that the main isomer had a cis configuration. The catalyst was shown to be active in ethylene polymerization in the presence of the cocatalyst methylaluminoxane. The highest catalyst activity for the zirconium complex was achieved at Al/Zr = 2500, 70 °C and when a small concentration of catalyst was used (1 μmol). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 3830–3841, 2008     

Solid phase extraction of zirconium as arsenazo(III) complex on agar and spectrophotometric determination

A new solid phase extraction method for the separation and determination of zirconium using agar as an adsorbent is described. The method is based on the adsorption of zirconium as arsenazo(III) complex on agar in a mini-column, elution with sulfuric acid-acetone mixture and determination by spectrophotometry. The effect of different parameters such as pH, concentration of the reagent, eluting reagent, and volume of the sample, amount of the adsorbent and interfering ions was investigated. The calibration graph was linear in the range of 5?C300 ng ml^?1 of zirconium under optimum conditions. The limit of detection based on 3S_b was 1.3 ng ml^?1 and the relative standard deviation (R.S.D) for ten replicate measurements of 15 and 200 ng ml^?1 of zirconium was 3.7 and 1.8%, respectively. The method was applied to the determination of zirconium in water and soil samples.     

Determination of zirconium traces in polymers by ICP-IDMS – a powerful and fast method for routine testing of zirconium residues in polyolefins

Zirconium trace analyses play an important role for polyolefins produced by modern catalytic processes with zirconium metallocenes. A reliable and fast routine testing method by inductively coupled plasma isotope dilution mass spectrometry (ICP-IDMS) was therefore developed, which allows the determination of zirconium in polymers down to the low ng/g level. With respect to its precision, accuracy, and time-consumption this method is suitable for routine testing of production processes. A spike solution, enriched in the stable isotope ⁹¹Zr, was prepared and used for the isotope dilution procedure, which has the advantage of being an internal “one point” calibration method. The polyolefin samples were dissolved by microwave assisted digestion with a mixture of concentrated HNO₃/HF. Received: 16 November 1998 / Revised: 29 January 1999 / Accepted: 18 February 1999     

Fluorimetric determination of zirconium with morin

Zirconium can be determination fluorimctrically with morin in 2M hydrochloric acid in the presence of such elements as Al, Be, Ga, Sb, Sn, Th and U, which fluorcsce much less strongly under the conditions, by measuring the fluorescence intensity before and after adding ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. This substance destroys the fluorescence of zirconium only and the difference in fluorescence intensities corresponds to the concentration of zirconium in solution. The determination of zirconium in the presence of aluminum has especially been studied. Satisfactory accuracy can be obtained even when Al/Zr = 10,000, if the proper morin concentration is used. Iron docs not interfere if reduced to the ferrous state with mercap oacetic acid, Zirconium can be determined in silicate rocks without any separations except those made automatically in tlie sodium carbonate decomposition. Niobium and tantalum should not exceed 0.05%.     

Application limits in using backscattered radiation for matrix correction in X-ray fluorescence analysis

The known relations of sample element concentration to X-ray fluorescence and backscattered radiation and the correlated cross-sections are investigated for atomic numbers between 6 and 92. Calculations were performed using tabulated coefficients. Results show that coherent scattered primary radiation cannot be used as a check point for matrix correction. Only incoherent scattering on well defined conditions makes it possible to determine a mean value of mass attenuation coefficient. Thus incoherent scattered radiation allows matrix correction using the fluorescence-to-Compton-ratio. application limits of this method are discussed for applying to geological samples.     

A novel solid-phase extraction method for separation and preconcentration of zirconium

This work assesses the use of modified natural clinoptilolite as an adsorptive material for separation and preconcentration of trace amounts of zirconium ions. A simple, rapid and economical method was developed for the preconcentration of trace amounts of zirconium in aqueous medium using 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol as a complexing agent. Effect of sample pH, flow rate of sample and elution solutions, breakthrough volume and interference of several ions were studied. Determination of zirconium was made by ICP-AES technique. The sorption was quantitative in the pH range from 3.0 to 4.0, whereas quantitative desorption occurred instantaneously with 2 mol L^?1 hydrochloric acid. Linearity was maintained between 0.05 and 9.0 μg mL^?1. Relative standard deviations range from ±0.9% to ±2.3% (n?=?5). The detection limit was 0.1 ng mL^?1. Because of good recovery (>97%), this method is suitable for preconcentration and determination of zirconium in effluents containing trace amount of zirconium.     

Solvent extraction behaviour of tracer zirconium in TTA-xylene system

The solvent extraction behaviour of tracer zirconium in the TTA-xylene system has been studied. By studying the effect of TTA concentration, extraction time, and acid concentration for HNO₃ and HCl, optimum conditions of zirconium extraction are determined. It is found that zirconium is 98% extracted in one minute of extraction with 0.5M TTA in xylene from an 8M HNO₃ solution. A plot of 1g D versus 1g [TTA] gives a straight line with a slope of 2. This suggests that the zirconium ion is hydrolyzed and is present as ZrO²⁺, zirconyl ion, in aqueous solutions. Based on work done while the author was at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. 02139, USA.     

Effect of preparative conditions on the surface characteristics of mixed zirconium and titanium oxides

The surface characteristics of mixed zirconium and titanium oxides prepared from different starting materials are investigated. One mode of preparation entailed the use of zirconium sulfate and titanium oxysulfate as starting materials and ammonium hydroxide as precipitating agent. The produced oxides were washed to different extents to obtain samples with different sulfate content. A second preparative mode used zirconium oxychloride and titanous chloride as starting materials also with ammonium hydroxide as precipitating agent. The oxidation of the titanous to the titanic form for these oxides was carried out by means of oxygen gas. Resulting samples were heat treated at 400 °C and 600 °C, and textural characteristics determined from the adsorption of N₂ at 77 K, complemented by infrared and thermal studies. The samples precipitated from the oxychloride and chloride salts of zirconium and titanium, as well as those precipitated from the sulfate and oxysulfate salts and washed free of the sulfate ions displayed quite similar textural characteristics. The unheated samples and those heat-treated at 400 °C were mesoporous, with some microporosity, and relatively large surface areas in the order of 200–300 m²/g. Heat treatment to 600 °C led to a relative decrease in surface area, in the order of 100 m²/g, and to the disappearance of microporosity. The mixed zirconium and titanium oxides with a sulfate content of ≈17% displayed significantly lower surface areas, smaller than 10 m²/g, with a prevalence of micro and mesoporosity. Infrared and thermal studies indicated the presence of differently bounded sulfato groups, which seem to have a blocking effect on the pores, resulting in the observed smaller surface areas.     

The determination of carbon in the refractory metals zirconium,niobium, tantalum and tungsten by instrumental deuteron activation analysis

Instrumental activation analysis is used for the determination of carbon in the refractory metals zirconium, niobium, tantalum and tungsten, based on the ¹²C(d, n)¹³N reaction induced by 5–7-MeV deuterons. ¹³N(t_{$\text{1}\text{2}$} = 10.0 min) is detected via its annihilation radiation. The contribution of ¹³N to the annihilation activity is separated from that of other β⁺-emitters by decay-curve analysis. The method is free of nuclear interferences. The possible spectrometric interferences are discussed. Concentrations of 65.1, 24.8, 1.04 and <0.015 μg C g^-1, with relative standard deviations of 4.0, 5.9 and 14.0%, were obtained for zirconium, niobium, tantalum and tungsten, respectively.     

Mixed insoluble acidic salts of tetravalent metals IV. Crystalline mixed zirconium — Titanium phosphates

Mixed crystalline alpha zirconium — titanium phosphates with variable zirconium to titanium ratios have been prepared both by the well known gel reflux method and a modified HF method. Chemical analysis, X-ray, i.r. and thermal analysis were used to characterize the materials. Exchange capacities for these ion-exchangers have been evaluated by pH-titration combined with radioisotope tract technique for Na⁺, K⁺, Rb⁺ and Cs⁺.     

Chemical deposition of zirconium doped tin silicate ion-exchanger and its characterization

Doping of inorganic ion-exchange material tin silicate with zirconium ion by sol-gel technique was conducted for the production of a novel ion-exchanger. Undoped and doped tin silicate has been characterized by elemental analysis (X-ray fluorescence), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction studies. The structures of two ion-exchangers were identified and the empirical formulas found as SnSi₂O₆·6H₂O and SnZr₄Si₄O₁₂·16H₂O for tin silicate and zirconium doped tin silicate, respectively. The effect of zirconium ion concentration of the doped tin silicate on the crystalline size and strain of tin silicate was investigated. The probable structure of both materials was assessed by the ChemDraw Ultra program. Finally, application of these materials for the treatment of radionuclides in terms of capacity measurements was investigated.     

Chromium speciation and preconcentration using zirconium(IV) and zirconium(IV) phosphate chemically immobilized onto silica gel surface using a flow system and F AAS

A procedure for chromium speciation by F AAS using a flow system has been proposed. In this system, Cr(III) and Cr(VI) ions were adsorbed sequentially onto a mini-column packed with silica gel modified with zirconium phosphate and a mini-column packed with silica gel modified with zirconium oxide, respectively. The elution of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) was made with, respectively, nitric acid solution and tris(hydroxymethyl)methylamine (THAM) solution in reverse mode and determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry without interference of the matrix. Chemical and flow variables as well as concomitant ions were studied in the developed procedure. The enrichment factor for Cr(III) and Cr(VI) was 20.8 and 24.9, respectively, using a preconcentration time of 3.75 min. The limit of detection for Cr(III) and Cr(VI) was 1.9, and 2.3 μg l⁻¹, respectively. The precision of the method, evaluated as the relative standard deviation in solutions containing 100 μg l⁻¹ of chromium species, by analyzing a series of seven replicates, was lower than 3.0%. The accuracy was assessed through recovery experiments of water samples and using another methodology.     

Trace determination of zirconium using charged particle activation

Reaction yields on thick zirconium targets with proton, deuteron,³He and⁴He activation have been measured and compared. The most favorable reaction combining high sensitivity and selectivity was found to be Zr(p, xn)⁹⁰Nb. The absolute cross-section for this excitation function has been measured for proton energies up to 20 MeV. Analytical applications are illustrated with nondestructive zirconium analyses in glass. Yields from the thick target experiments indicate that the detection limit for this zirconium analysis method is ～1 ppb.     

Anomalous small‐angle X‐ray scattering characterization of composites based on sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone), zirconium phosphates,and zirconium oxide

The morphology and distribution of zirconium oxide and zirconium phosphates in a matrix of sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) were investigated with anomalous small‐angle X‐ray scattering (ASAXS) and electron microscopy. ASAXS revealed that ZrO₂ was distributed in the SPEEK matrix in the form of nanoparticles smaller than 13 Å. A decrease in the conductivity suggested that the sulfonic groups were bound to the zirconium oxo species at the particle surface. Furthermore, two kinds of membranes containing zirconium phosphate were investigated. In one case, the phosphate was directly dispersed in the polymer solution for the casting of the membrane. In the other case, the phosphate was previously treated with n‐propyl ammonium and polybenzimidazole. From ASAXS data, the fractal dimension could be estimated. Mass‐fractal behavior was confirmed for the SPEEK membrane containing previously exfoliated zirconium phosphate, with aggregates of 6.3–165 Å. Surface‐fractal behavior was detected for membranes with untreated phosphates, with aggregates of 6.4–185 Å. The untreated phosphates caused an increase in the permeability, without changing the proton conductivity much. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 567–575, 2004     

State of phosphorus in sorbents based on titanium and zirconium phosphates from 31P NMR spectroscopy data

A ³¹P NMR method has been used to study sorbents based on titanium and zirconium phosphates synthesized by bulk mixing the reagents and treatment of x-ray amorphous TiO₂, rutile and ZrO₂ by phosphoric acid. In the bulk titanium and zirconium phosphates the phosphorus occurs in four different states, phosphate groups bonded through cross-linking oxygen atoms with one, two, and three atoms of the metal and molecules of phosphoric acid trapped in the matrix of the sorbent in the synthesis process. It is established that the method of grafting the phosphate groups to the surfaces of the hydrated TiO₂ and ZrO₂ is determined by the crystalline and chemical properties of the surfaces.Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Éksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 24, No. 5, pp. 633–636, September–October, 1988.     

Studies on synthesis esterified zirconium glyphosates and their hydrophobic properties

A series of new organic-modified zirconium glyphosate compounds were synthesized based on the reactions between esterified glyphosates and ZrOCl₂. FT-IR spectra, solid-state ³¹P MAS NMR and elementary analysis proved the formation of these new compounds. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) patterns and transmission electron microscope (TEM) images proved these compounds had lamellar structures. Scanning electronic microscope (SEM) images showed that solvents used in synthesis had great influence on the morphologies of products. Water contact angle measurements showed that the hydrophobic property of the products was a function of the number of carbon in esterified glyphosates, increased from 0° of zirconium glyphosate to 133° of dodecyl zirconium glyphosate. The present study offered a new route to synthesize organic-modified α-Zr(HPO₄)₂·H₂O (α-ZrP) materials with various morphology and controllable hydrophobic property.