α-Zirconium(IV) Phosphate: Static Study of <sup>225</sup>Ac Sorption in an Acidic Environment and Its Kinetic Sorption Study Using <sup>nat</sup>Eu as a Model System for <sup>225</sup>Ac

oleh: Lukáš Ondrák, Kateřina Ondrák Fialová, Martin Vlk, Karel Štamberg, Frank Bruchertseifer, Alfred Morgenstern, Ján Kozempel

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-08-01

Deskripsi

Zirconium phosphate (ZrP), especially its alpha allotropic modification, appears to be a very promising sorbent material for the sorption and separation of various radionuclides due to its properties such as an extremely high ion exchange capacity and good radiation stability. Actinium-225 and its daughter nuclide <sup>213</sup>Bi are alpha emitting radioisotopes of high interest for application in targeted alpha therapy of cancer. Thus, the main aim of this paper is to study the sorption of <sup>225</sup>Ac on the α-ZrP surface and its kinetics, while the kinetics of the sorption is studied using <sup>nat</sup>Eu as a non-radioactive homologue of <sup>225</sup>Ac. The sorption properties of α-ZrP were tested in an acidic environment (hydrochloric and nitric acid) using batch sorption experiments and characterized using equilibrium weight distribution coefficients <i>D</i><sub>w</sub> (mL/g). The modeling of the experimental data shows that the kinetics of <sup>225</sup>Ac sorption on the surface of α-ZrP can be described using a film diffusion model (FD). The equilibrium weight distribution coefficient <i>D</i><sub>w</sub> for <sup>225</sup>Ac in both hydrochloric and nitric acid reached the highest values in the concentration range 5.0–7.5 mM (14,303 ± 153 and 65,272 ± 612 mL/g, respectively). Considering the results obtained in radioactive static sorption experiments with <sup>225</sup>Ac and in non-radioactive kinetic experiments with <sup>nat</sup>Eu, α-ZrP seems to be a very promising material for further construction of a <sup>225</sup>Ac/<sup>213</sup>Bi generator.