Synthesis and characterisation of mesoporous silica phases containing heteroatoms, and their cation exchange properties. Part 4. Measurement of distribution coefficients for 241-Am, 51-Cr, 59-Fe, 54-Mn, 63-Ni, 236-Pu and 65-Zn

Previous papers in this series have described the synthesis and characterisation of a series of MCM-41 phases of differing pore structure and framework compositions [1], isotherm studies designed to illustrate their cation selectivity [2], and their efficiency in scavenging 137-Cs, 89-Sr and 57-Co from various solutions [3] appropriate to the potential remediation of aqueous nuclear waste streams. This work extends the radioisotope studies to include, 241-Am, 236-Pu for their importance in the treatment of spent nuclear fuel (241-Am also has a wide use in smoke detectors) and 51-Cr, 59-Fe, 54-Mn, 65-Zn which are present in nuclear wastes from neutron activation in nuclear installations, as well as those arising from medical uses. Measurement of distribution coefficients enabled the construction of selectivity series which demonstrated the versatility of the phases for scavenging specific isotopes. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.