First chemical on-line separation and detection of a subsecond α-decaying nuclide, 224Pa

Subsecond 224 Pa (T 1/2 = 0.85 s) was produced via the 209 Bi(18 O,3n)224 Pa reaction at the 88 inch cyclotron at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. After production it was transported via a gas-jet system to the centrifuge system SISAK 3. Following on-line extraction with trioctylamine/scintillation solutions from 1M lactic acid, 224 Pa was detected applying on-line α-liquid scintillation counting. Unambiguous identification was achieved using time-correlated α-α-decay chain analysis. This constitutes the first chemical on-line separation and detection of a subsecond α-decaying nuclide, 0.85-s 224 Pa with the fast extraction system SISAK 3.