Radiolysis of solvents containing C5-BTBP: identification of degradation products and their dependence on absorbed dose and dose rate.
Solvents intended for the separation of trivalent actinides from trivalent lanthanides in spent nuclear fuel have been irradiated with gamma-radiation. The solvents initially contained 0.005 M C5-BTBP dissolved in either hexanol or cyclohexanone and they were exposed to doses up to 20 kGy. Identification of degradation products was done using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (APCI-MS). Structures were suggested for a number of degradation products and the relative intensity of the peaks in the MS spectra was estimated. It was clear that the content of the original molecule, C5-BTBP, decreased with dose, while the content of the various degradation products increased. It was also shown that both the choice of diluent and the dose rate (Gy/h) affect the amount of degradation products formed. A degradation scheme was proposed for the radiolytic degradation of C5-BTBP.
Fermvik
Anna
A
Nuclear Chemistry, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University, SE-412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden. anna.fermvik@chalmers.se
Berthon
Laurence
L
Ekberg
Christian
C
Englund
Sofie
S
Retegan
Teodora
T
Zorz
Nicole
N