Rapid separation of Po-210 from Pb-210 based on the usage of a commercial Sr-Specific chromatographic resin.

The efficient extraction of small quantities of Po is necessary for preparing Po standard reference materials. Herein, a commercially available strontrium-specific chromatographic resin (Sr spec resin) was used to rapidly and selectively extract Po from a Pb-Bi-Po mixture, and the distribution ratios of Pb, Bi, and Po on Sr spec resin were probed using batch experiments. In contrast to Pb and Bi, Po was retained on the Sr spec cartridge in 8 M HCl and was then effectively eluted by 0.1 M HNO. The contents of Pb and Bi in the thus obtained Po solution were checked using a high purity germanium gamma-ray detector and the corresponding decay curve, respectively, and were found not to exceed 2%. Moreover, the Pb and Bi eluates could be used to regenerate Po by the same method after a certain time period. Therefore, the extracted Po solution was suitable for the preparation of the Po standard area source and Po standard reference materials.