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The LEGEND collaboration has been developing a 76Ge-based double-beta decay experimental program where precise radiopurity measurements of ultraclean materials are crucial. Ultralow concentrations of thorium and uranium, the main contributors to the detector background via their decay products, can be determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Here we shall present recent developments in thorium and uranium mass spectrometry methods, together with basics of separation chemistry applied to process different samples. The new possibilities to measure 232Th and 238U by ICPMS and AMS at the Comenius University in Bratislava are discussed as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fe78B15Sn7 and (Fe3Co1)78B15Sn7 amorphous metallic alloys were prepared using the method of planar flow casting. The amorphous nature of ribbons containing 7 at. % Sn was verified by X-ray diffraction. The resulting chemical composition was checked by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy and by mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma. The microstructure of the as-quenched metallic glasses was investigated by 57-Fe and 119-Sn Mössbauer spectrometry. The experiments were performed with transmission geometry at 300 K, 100 K, and 4.2 K, and in an external magnetic field of 6 T. The replacement of a quarter of the Fe by Co did not cause significant modifications of the hyperfine interactions in the 57-Fe nuclei. The observed minor variations in the local magnetic microstructure were attributed to alterations in the topological short-range order. However, the in-field 57-Fe Mössbauer spectra indicated a misalignment of the partial magnetic moments. On the other hand, the presence of Co considerably affected the local magnetic microstructure of the 119-Sn nuclei. This was probably due to the higher magnetic moment of Co, which induces transfer fields and polarization effects on the diamagnetic Sn atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the adsorption of selected water pollutants, namely caesium and copper, by using natural zeolite of the clinoptilolite type, as well as clinoptilolites coated with MnOx, FeO(OH)-MnOx and FeO(OH). A comprehensive evaluation of these processes was conducted. The kinetics of Cs and Cu adsorption on all examined samples smoothly followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, with the liquid film step regarded as the slower step in both cases. The Langmuir isotherm model provided the most accurate description of Cs and Cu adsorption for all examined samples. However, when considering natural clinoptilolite and FeO(OH)-clinoptilolite systems in relation to Cu(II), the Redlich–Peterson model slightly outperformed the Langmuir model. The modification of clinoptilolite with Mn and Fe oxyhydroxides did not significantly enhance the removal efficiency of Cs compared to the unmodified sample. In contrast, the adsorption capacity, especially for MnOx-clinoptilolite, increased fourfold for Cu and other tested cations such as Pb and Zn, indicating improved efficiency in these cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microstructure and thermomagnetic characteristics of the amorphous Fe51Co12Si16B8Mo5P8 alloy in the as-quenched state and after 1 h of annealing at 573 K and 773 K are studied. The structural investigations performed by Mössbauer spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry confirmed the amorphous structure of the analysed materials. An increase in the annealing temperature up to 773 K does not lead to crystallization of the amorphous alloy. Only structural rearrangement that causes changes in the topological short-range order and annealing out of free volume is observed. This behaviour was confirmed by modifications of the shapes of hyperfine field distributions derived from the corresponding Mössbauer spectra of the investigated alloys. The Curie temperatures of the as-quenched and annealed Fe51Co12Si16B8Mo5P8 alloy at 573 and 773 K are 400, 405 and 421 K, respectively.

Two vanadium complexes of mandelic acid having [Fe(bpy)3]2+ as counterion, [Fe(bpy)3][V2O4(rac-mand)2]·4.9H2O·0.1CH3CN (1, FeV2L2) and (H3O)[Fe(bpy)3]4[V3O7(S-mand)2]3·28H2O (2, FeV3L2) (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, mand2– = mandelato ligand, C8H6O32–) have been synthesized and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction and spectral methods. The FeSO4—bpy—KVO3—H2mand—H2O—CH3CN system exhibits a stereospecific behaviour: while from the system including racemic mandelic acid only the complex of the V2L2 type (1) could be obtained in crystalline form, the system with S-mandelic acid afforded the V3L2 (2) complex as the single crystalline product. All vanadium atoms exhibit tetragonal pyramidal coordination geometry with oxygen donor atoms of the oxido ligands and carboxylate anion. The stereospecific behaviour was investigated using the 51 V NMR spectroscopy, which revealed different composition of systems with racemic mandelic acid and S-mandelic acid after some preliminary period (≈ 15 days). The compound 2 is chiral non-racemic compound (space group P21212), the structure of which contains Δ-[Fe(bpy)3]2+ cations and [V3O7(S-mand)2]3– anions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subsurface properties of 57Fe81Mo9Cu1B9 metallic glass were studied by conversion electron and conversion X-ray Mössbauer spectrometry. They were applied to both surfaces of the ribbons. Deviations in structural surface features are exhibited via different contents of crystalline phases, which were identified as bcc-Fe and magnetite. The presence of small ferromagnetic particles was also suggested from magnetic measurements. An influence of irradiation with 130-keV N+ ions on surface properties of the as-quenched alloy is also discussed.