Synthesis of isotopically enriched germanium‑72 tetrachloride 72GeCl4
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17308/kcmf.2026.28/13684Keywords:
Isotopes, Germanium, Chlorine, High-purity substances, ChlorinationAbstract
Objective: Development and evaluation of a laboratory method for the synthesis of72GeCl4 from isotopically enriched germanium72Ge and chlorine.
Experimental: A method for producing high-purity72GeCl4 has been developed, involving synthesis from elemental starting materials followed by distillative purification. The practical yield of germanium‑72 tetrachloride was 90%. The molecular impurity profile and the isotopic composition of germanium in the obtained72GeCl4 were characterized by gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, and IR spectroscopy. The content of molecular impurities (permanent gases, halogen derivatives of alkanes, and silicon) in72GeCl4 is at the level of ~10–3 to 10–6 vol. %. The enrichment level of the main72Ge isotope is 99.75221 ± 0.00300 at. %.
Conclusions: The developed laboratory method for synthesizing72GeCl4 from isotopically enriched72Ge allows for the production of72GeCl4 with high yield, preservation of the enrichment level for the main72Ge isotope, and high chemical purity
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