Thermochromatographic studies of mercury and radon on transition metal surfaces

Abstract

Abstract In preparation for the experimental investigation of chemical properties of element 112 model studies were conducted based on the assumed similarity of element 112 to either the noble gas Rn or the transition metal Hg, its supposed lighter homologue in group 12. The adsorption behavior of elemental Hg on the transition metals Ag, Au, Ni, Pd, and Pt were investigated experimentally by off-line gas thermochromatography. The deduced adsorption data of Hg were compared with new values calculated using the Eichler–Miedema model. The observed sequence of increasing Hg-metal-interactions for Ag < Ni < Au < Pd < Pt confirms the predicted trend. The only exception was Pd, on which Hg was calculated to adsorb at a higher temperature than on Pt. Difficulties to obtain reproducible clean surfaces of Ag, Ni, Pd, and Pt led to the choice of Au as the best metal surface suitable to adsorb Hg. For fast on-line gas thermochromatography studies on metallic surfaces a new set-up was developed based on the In-situ Volatilization and On-line detection technique (IVO). This set-up was tested in on-line thermochromatographic investigations with short-lived Hg isotopes and 219Rn, using Au or Pd as stationary surfaces. An overall efficiency of about 60% and a transportation time less than 25 s was determined for this newly designed IVO. A separation factor of more than 106 was estimated for non-volatile species.