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

Alpha activation of Tl2O3 target results in the formation of carrier-free 204,206Bi. 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.