Analytical Sciences


Abstract − Analytical Sciences, 30(11), 1069 (2014).

Adsorption Behavior of Beryllium(II) on Copper-oxide Nanoparticles Dispersed in Water: A Model for 7Be Colloid Formation in the Cooling Water for Electromagnets at High-energy Accelerator Facilities
Kotaro BESSHO,*,** Naoki KANAYA,*** Saki SHIMADA,*** Shoichi KATSUTA,*** and Hideaki MONJUSHIRO*
*Radiation Science Center, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), 1-1 Oho, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0801, Japan
**Safety Division, J-PARC Center, 2-4 Shirane Shirakata, Tokai, Naka, Ibaraki 319-1195, Japan
***Graduate School of Science, Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage, Chiba 263-8522, Japan
The adsorption behavior of Be(II) on CuO nanoparticles dispersed in water was studied as a model for colloid formation of radioactive 7Be nuclides in the cooling water used for electromagnets at high-energy proton accelerator facilities. An aqueous Be(II) solution and commercially available CuO nanoparticles were mixed, and the adsorption of Be(II) on CuO was quantitatively examined. From a detailed analysis of the adsorption data measured as a function of the pH, it was confirmed that Be(II) is adsorbed on the CuO nanoparticles by complex formation with the hydroxyl groups on the CuO surface (>S–OH) according to the following equation:
n > S–OH + Be2+ ⇔ (>S–O)n Be(2−n)+ + nH+ (n = 2, 3) S : solid surface.
The surface-complexation constants corresponding to the above equilibrium, β(s,2) and β(s,3), were determined for four types of CuO nanoparticles. The β(s,2) value was almost independent of the type of nanoparticle, whereas the β(s,3) values varied with the particle size. These complexation constants successfully explain 7Be colloid formation in the cooling water used for electromagnets at the 12-GeV proton accelerator facility.