Validating Vacuum Chromatography with Subsecond Radioisotopes of Hg for Superheavy Element Chemistry
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Isothermal vacuum adsorption chromatography (IVAC) in the molecular-flow regime offers the speed and chemical selectivity needed to study superheavy elements beyond flerovium (Fl, Z = 114). In this study, the GLACIER buffer gas cell and RF quadrupole combination was coupled with IVAC behind the gas-filled separator AGGIE for benchmark experiments with short-lived mercury radioisotopes 179 Hg ( t 1/2 = 1.05(3) s) and 178 Hg ( t 1/2 = 0.2665(24) s). GLACIER provided stable transport conditions over multiple days thereby enabling a clean chromatographic separation of Hg from less-volatile nuclear reaction byproducts on fused silica. These experiments validated the employed microscopic-kinetic transport model at zero surface coverage implemented in the form of a Monte Carlo simulation. The presented findings render this approach applicable to superheavy elements such as moscovium (Mc, Z = 115).
Authors: Georg Tiebel, Amelia S. Kirkland, Anna M. Bukowski, Titeana L. M. Cook, Rugard Dressler, Paul Dutheil, Robert Eichler, Charles M. Folden III, Jenna R. Garcia, Isaac W. Haynes, Dominik Herrmann, Michael Hofstetter, Yuta Ito, Jordan A. Mildon, Tetsuya K. Sato, Evgeny E. Tereshatov, Alexander Vögele, Vira Zakusilova, Patrick Steinegger
Institutions: Paul Scherrer Institute, ETH Zurich, Texas A&M University, University of Bern, Spiez Laboratory, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, Advanced Science Research Center, Institute of Particle and Nuclear Studies, Kyoto University, Institute for Integrated Radiation and Nuclear Science, Kyoto University, Ibaraki University
Language: English
Subfield: Inorganic Chemistry
Field: Chemistry
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7128618844