title: Capillary electrophoresis coupled with in-column fiber-optic laser-induced fluorescence detection for the rapid separation of neodymium.
abstract: In this study, in-column fiber-optic (ICFO) laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection technique is coupled with capillary electrophoresis (CE) for the rapid separation of neodymium for the first time. The effects of buffer concentration, buffer pH, and separation voltage on the CE behaviors, including electrophoretic efficiency and detection sensitivity, are investigated in detail. Under the optimal condition determined in this study (15 mM borate buffer, pH 10.50, separation voltage 24 kV), neodymium could be separated effectively from the neighboring lanthanides (praseodymium and samarium) within several minutes, and the limit of detection for neodymium is estimated to be at the ppt level. The ICFO-LIF-CE system assembled in this study exhibits unique performance characteristics such as low cost and flexibility. Meanwhile, the separation efficiency and detection sensitivity of the assembled CE system are comparable to or somewhat better than those obtained in the previous traditional CE systems, indicating the potential of the assembled CE system for practical applications in the fields of spent nuclear fuel analysis, nuclear waste disposal/treatment, and nuclear forensics.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nuclear Physics and Chemistry, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Changming
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nuclear Physics and Chemistry, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nuclear Physics and Chemistry, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nuclear Physics and Chemistry, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nuclear Physics and Chemistry, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, P. R. China. husheng205@caep.cn.
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nuclear Physics and Chemistry, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, P. R. China. xlwang@caep.cn.
authors.forename: Xiaolin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D019075:Electrophoresis, Capillary / Q000379:methods*; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology / Q000379:methods*; D057230:Limit of Detection; D009354:Neodymium / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D009354:Neodymium
keywords: Capillary Electrophoresis; In-column fiber-optic; Laser-induced fluorescence; Neodymium; Rapid separation