Selective absorption of bromine on columns of silver nitrate-loaded porous glass powder and its application in the neutron activation analysis of high-purity selenium

A very simple method for the determination of bromine in selenium has been developed. The manual handling of the irradiated selenium sample is reduced to a minimum. After the placing of the sample into the dissolution flask, no further manipulation is necessary except for the transference of the⁸²Br counting sample from the dissolution apparatus to the scintillation counter.⁸²Br is very selectively absorbed on columns prepared from surface-rich porous glass powder coated with silver nitrate. More than 95% of the bromine is absorbed on the columns and the decontamination factor for⁷⁵Se is better than 10⁻⁷. Commercially available selenium brands with bromine contents down to 0.025 ppm have been analyzed. Dedicated to Prof. Dr.Fritz Strassmann on the occasion of his 70th birthday Presented at the Second Symposium on Recent Developments in Neutron Activation Analysis held at Cambridge, England, June 1971.