Reduction of the radioactivity in sodium iodide (NaI) powder by recrystallization method

The COSINE experiment is searching for dark matter using ultra-low background NaI scintillating crystals. In order to reduce the internal contamination of the initial NaI powder to grow NaI crystals, NaI powder samples with different purities were purified by fractional recrystallization using de-ionized water. The concentrations of the main radioactive elements, K, Pb, Th, and U, which are major backgrounds for the dark matter search, were reduced to the level required for the experiment. Further, the concentrations of other impurities, e.g., Ba, Ca, Cr, and Fe, were also reduced, which is important to realize good quality NaI crystals.