Radiochemical separation of carrier-free 204,206 Bi from alpha-irradiated thallium oxide target.

Alpha activation of Tl(2)O(3) target results in the formation of carrier-free 204,206 Bi. Two different radiochemical methods were used for the separation of bismuth radionuclides from the target matrix. A very high separation factor was achieved using liquid-liquid extraction (LLX) method with methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK)-HCl system. Solid-liquid exchange adsorption was carried out using a novel inorganic ion exchanger, zirconium vanadate from HCl medium. The separation was found to be maximum around pH 2.