Development of Rapid Analytical Method for Radioactive Samples by Capillary Electrophoresis with Absorbance and Fluorescence Detection

A simple and rapid analytical method with low radiation exposure risk by capillary electrophoresis was developed for actinides and lanthanides in radioactive waste samples. This study focused on a pre-capillary derivatization technique using an emissive probe to drastically improve the sensitivity and selectivity. In the present thesis, new emissive probes were designed and synthesized for the actinides thorium, uranium, plutonium, neptunium, americium and curium. An on-capillary sample concentration technique was used for the sensitive detection of trace actinide ions in actual radioactive samples containing various elements. Furthermore, the mutual separation of americium and curium ions, which is difficult because of their similar chemical properties, was achieved by a ternary complexation technique with actinide-probe complexes. In addition, we demonstrated the determination of neodymium in a spent nuclear fuel sample solution with a high dose that contained various elements, including lanthanides and a large excess of uranium. This method, which requires a small sample volume and a short analytical time, has great potential for reducing the radiation exposure of workers during the analysis of radioactive samples. (Received November 19, 2016)