Chemical Separation of ⁶⁴Cu From Irradiated Ni Target by Anion Exchange Method

To separate ⁶⁴Cu from cyclotron irradiated ⁶⁴Ni target, a radiochemical purification procedure for ⁶⁴Cu from Ni and Co via anion exchange was developed. Based on the distribution coefficient data of Cu, Ni and Co between AG1-X8 resin and HCl medium, separation of ⁶⁴Cu from Ni and Co using AG1-X8 anion exchange resin column had been studied with different concentrations of HCl as the eluent. The Ni fraction was eluted by 6 mol/L HCl, and Co fraction by 4 mol/L HCl. ⁶⁴Cu fraction was washed out and collected in 1 mol/L HCl. Recovery yield of ⁶⁴Cu was 87.5%±3.0%. The radionuclide purity of ⁶⁴Cu produced by enriched ⁶⁴Ni was higher than 99.0% and the concentrations of Ni and Co in the final ⁶⁴CuCl₂ solution were both less than 0.05 mg/L.