Radiochemical separation of 101mRh via 101Pd from a Rhodium target

The radiochemical separation of 101mRh produced from a pressed Rh powder target via its precursor 101Pd is described. The procedure employs a novel method for the dissolution of Rh metal powder using Au(III) as an oxidising agent. The solvent extraction of 101Pd from the target solution has been carried out by α-benzoin oxime. This method of extraction has been found to be considerably better than using ion-exchange column chromatography with Dowex 1 × 8 resin or the use of dimethyl glyoxime (DMG) as extractant, which were tried for comparison. The total time taken for the extraction of 101Pd from irradiated Rh target was approximately 2 h and the overall yield of 101Rh was 53%.