This work has been carried out as a part of the study aimed at creating a therapeutic in vivo 103Pd/103mRh generator of Auger electrons. The 103Pd radionuclide can be produced in a metal rhodium target as a result of the Rh(p, n)103Pd or Rh(d, 2n)103Pd reaction. To extract 103Pd from the target, it is necessary that rhodium be transferred into solution, which is a rather intricate task. A laboratory setup and a technique for express dissolution of rhodium have been developed. This technique consists in alternating cycles of rhodium dissolution ( 2.5 h) with an alternating current of 15 A and recovery with a direct current of 1 A (15 min). The technique for reducing rhodium metal from Rh solution in 6 M hydrochloric acid has been tested in order to include it in a closed 103Pd production cycle. The efficiency of the created laboratory setup is demonstrated using an example of the dissolution of a powder rhodium target irradiated with protons.

One of the methods for obtaining 123I is the bombardment of gaseous 124Xe with protons, in which nuclear reactions of production and decay of 123Xe and 123I isotopes occur. After irradiation, the gas phase is condensed from the target into a special “decay container,” in which the target isotope 123I is produced and accumulated during 123Xe decay. The amount of 123I produced in the target and deposited on its walls during the irradiation is comparable to the amount of 123I obtained in the decay container. A laboratory setup has been created and a process technology for extracting 123I from the walls of the target has been developed to increase the total yield of 123I. Organic solvents (acetone and diethyl ether) are used for this purpose. The proportion of the 123I extracted by washing off from the walls of the aluminum target is at least 84

The paper describes the results of work on the creation of a prototype 212 Pb generator obtained by the emanation method using the gaseous radionuclide 220 Rn. The generator is technologically simple and has convenient operational characteristics. The efficiency of 220 Rn isolation with this design is more than 90%, which indicates the acceptability of such type of sources for obtaining 212 Pb of high radionuclide purity for the needs of nuclear medicine.

An apparatus for the rapid thermal extraction of Re radioisotopes from an irradiated tungsten target has been developed. Its operation was tested using a tungsten target pre-irradiated with deuterons on the U-150 cyclotron of the Kurchatov Institute. A description of the design of the apparatus and the principle of its operation are given. It has been shown that in one two-stage calcination–sublimation cycle, at least 89% of the Re activity from the W target can be collected on the receiving area of the collector. The apparatus can be used to isolate the 186Re isotope formed from 186W upon irradiation with protons or deuterons of cyclotron targets.

A method has been proposed to convert isotopically modified sulfur hexafluoride to elemental sulfur by the reaction of sulfur hexafluoride with hydrogen in a high-frequency discharge: SF 6 + 3H 2 = S + 6HF. The optimal process conditions (the ratio between the reactants, the pressure in the reactor, the flow rate of the reaction mixture, and the yield of the desired products) are determined. Single-isotope sulfur was obtained at a yield of above 99% without a change in the concentration of the corresponding isotope.

According to the Szilard–Chalmers effect, 99Mo recoil atoms can be obtained in nuclear reactions and recorded in a collector. Knowledge of the dependence of the yield of 99Mo atoms on the thickness of the molybdenum layer is necessary for their efficient collection. The yield of 99Mo recoil atoms from molybdenum nanolayers in the nuclear reaction 100Mo(p, x)99Mo was measured as a function of the thickness of the nanolayer. Nanolayers of metallic molybdenum were fabricated by magnetron sputtering on sapphire plates. The measurements were performed after the nanolayers were irradiated by 28 MeV protons in the U-150 cyclotron. The yield of 99Mo recoil atoms for 38–205 nm thick nanolayers was 65–8%. It was found that the maximum 99Mo yield obtains with molybdenum layer thickness 80 ± 5 nm. It was found that the free path of 99Mo recoil atoms in native metallic molybdenum is equal to 34 ± 9 nm.

The radionuclide 99Mo was produced and separated in the process of irradiating powdered mixtures of molybdenum compounds and buffer particles by 30 MeV protons. The separation is based on the Szilard–Chalmers effect wherein 99Mo recoil particles are fixed in inert buffer particles. Two types of targets were investigated by using mixtures: soluble molybdenum compound–insoluble buffer and insoluble molybdenum compound–soluble buffer. 99Mo yield equal to 20% with enrichment coefficient 18.3 was obtained by using a target consisting of a mixture of submicron 100MoO3 and Al2O3 particles; the 99Mo yield was equal to 20% and the enrichment coefficient 18.3. For a target with the composition 100MoS2 + KCl, making it possible to separate 99Mo recoil atoms directly into solution, the 99Mo yield was equal to 8.7% and the enrichment coefficient 30.7.

The reaction of carbon oxides and hydrogen in the presence of the Raney nickel catalyst has been used for water synthesis. A procedure has been developed for the recovery and collection of the synthesized water with minimal losses and without deteriorating the 17O or 18O isotope enrichment as compared to the initial CO2 and CO. The recovery of oxygen with high concentrations of 17O and 18O isotopes is based on the reaction of xenon difluoride with water. The yield based on oxygen achieves 99% without reduction of isotope enrichment, which is confirmed by mass-spectral measurements of oxygen isotope concentrations in the initial reagents and final reaction products.