Isotope Effects of Zinc in Crown Ether Chromatography

Abstract

Isotope separation of zinc has been studied with a polymer-supported crown ether resin packed in glass columns. Chromatography was performed in a break-through manner by feeding a zinc chloride solution into the columns. The mass analysis revealed that the heavier isotope was enriched at the front part of the zinc adsorption band. This result means that the heavier isotopes are preferentially fractionated into the solution phase. The largest single-stage separation coefficient (ε) in the present work is 1.0×10^-3 for the isotopic pair of ⁶⁴Zn and ⁶⁶Zn at 35°C.

KEYWORDS:

• isotope separation
• separation coefficient
• chromatography
• crown ether resin
• zinc injection
• anomalous isotope effects