Thallium Transfer from Hydrochloric Acid Media into Pure Ionic Liquids.

Pure hydrophobic ionic liquids are known to extract metallic species from aqueous solutions. In this work we have systematically investigated thallium (Tl) extraction from aqueous hydrochloric acid (HCl) solutions into six pure fluorinated ionic liquids, namely imidazolium- and pyrrolidinium-based ionic liquids with bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide and bis(fluorosulfonyl)-imide anions. The dependence of the Tl extraction efficiency on the structure and composition of the ionic liquid ions, metal oxidation state, and initial metal and aqueous acid concentrations have been studied.

rp process and masses of N approximately Z approximately 34 nuclides.

High-precision Penning-trap mass measurements of the N approximately Z approximately 34 nuclides 68Se, 70Se, (70m)Br, and 71Br were performed, reaching experimental uncertainties of 0.5-15 keV. The new and improved mass data together with theoretical Coulomb displacement energies were used as input for rp process network calculations.

Discovery of a nuclear isomer in 65Fe with penning trap mass spectrometry.

A new long-lived isomeric state in (65)Fe has been discovered with Penning trap mass spectrometry and high-precision mass measurements of the neutron-rich isotopes (63-65)Fe and (64-66)Co have been performed with the Low-Energy Beam and Ion Trap Facility at the NSCL. For the new isomer in (65)Fe an excitation energy of 402(5) keV has been determined from the measured mass difference between the isomeric and ground states. The mass uncertainties of all isotopes have been reduced by a factor of 10-100 compared to previous results.

Discovery of 40Mg and 42Al suggests neutron drip-line slant towards heavier isotopes.

A fundamental question in nuclear physics is what combinations of neutrons and protons can make up a nucleus. Many hundreds of exotic neutron-rich isotopes have never been observed; the limit of how many neutrons a given number of protons can bind is unknown for all but the lightest elements, owing to the delicate interplay between single particle and collective quantum effects in the nucleus. This limit, known as the neutron drip line, provides a benchmark for models of the atomic nucleus.