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For the first time, cross sections of the 151Eu(α,xn)155−xTb (x = 2–6) reactions were measured by stack foil technique in the alpha particle range 60 → 19 MeV. Experimental excitation functions were compared with theoretical data from TENDL 2019 library and calculated by EMPIRE-3.2.3 code. Thick target yields for terbium radioisotopes were calculated. The possibility of the practical application of the studied reactions for the production of 152Tb and 149Tb was assessed. It was shown that higher energy of alpha particles is required to produce 149Tb. The production of 152Tb is affected by the influence of side reactions. It is possible to decrease the total content of impurities (153Tb+151Tb) at EOB to 18% of the activity of the 152Tb under 8-hour irradiation by limiting the energy range of incident particles to 42 → 34 MeV. The 152Tb yield will be 222 MBq/μA.

Gas-phase chromatography studies of nihonium (Nh, $Z=113$ ) were carried out at the one-atom-at-a-time level. For the production of nihonium, the heavy-ion-induced nuclear fusion reaction of 48Ca with 243Am was used. This leads to isotopes 284,285Nh, as the direct descendants of the $\alpha$ -decaying precursors 288,289Mc. Combining the Dubna Gas-Filled Recoil Separator with gas-phase chromatographic separation, the experiment was sensitive to elemental nihonium and its adsorption behavior on Teflon, theoretically predicted by modern relativistic density functional theory. The non-observation of any decays of Nh after the chemical separation indicates a larger than expected retention of elemental Nh on a Teflon surface.

The adsorption behavior of 197Hg and 183–185Hg on red amorphous selenium (red a-Se) and trigonal selenium (t-Se) was investigated experimentally by off-line and on-line gas chromatographic methods, in preparation of a sensitive chemical separation and characterization of the transactinides copernicium (Cn, Z = 112) and flerovium (Fl, Z = 114). Monte-Carlo simulations of a diffusion controlled deposition were in good agreement with the experimental results, assuming as interaction limits −ΔH ads red a-Se (Hg) > 85 kJ/mol, and −ΔH ads t-Se (Hg)

Previously reported preparation method for Pd-based intermetallic targets (Usoltsev, et al., 2012) [1] has been successfully applied for producing two stationary 243Am/Pd targets. Both targets have been irradiated at the U-400 cyclotron at Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions Dubna (Russian Federation) using high intensity beams (up to 0.83 μApart) of 48Ca18+. Alpha-particle spectroscopy and light microscopy allowed for a comprehensive characterization of the intermetallic targets before and after irradiation. A natNd/Pd intermetallic target and a solely electroplated 243Am/Ti target were similarly investigated for comparison.

Currently, gas phase chemistry experiments with heaviest elements are usually performed with the gas-jet technique with the disadvantage that all reaction products are collected in a gas-filled thermalisation chamber adjacent to the target. The incorporation of a physical preseparation device between target and collection chamber opens up the perspective to perform new chemical studies. But this approach requires detailed knowledge of the stopping force (STF) of the heaviest elements in various materials. Measurements of the energy loss of mercury (Hg), radon (Rn), and nobelium (No) in Mylar and argon (Ar) were performed at low kinetic energies of around (40–270) keV per nucleon. The experimentally obtained values were compared with STF calculations of the commonly used program for calculating stopping and ranges of ions in matter (SRIM). Using the obtained data points an extrapolation of the STF up to element 114, eka-lead, in the same stopping media was carried out. These estimations were applied to design and to perform a first chemical experiment with a superheavy element behind a physical preseparator using the nuclear fusion reaction 244Pu(48Ca; 3n)289114. One decay chain assigned to an atom of 285112, the α-decay product of 289114, was observed.