Chemical aspects of the radiation stability of macrocyclic extractants designed for 90Sr separation

The contact of crown ether/ionic liquid extractants with nitric acid solutions results in macrocycle protonation, which complicates the radiolysis mechanism and increases the radiation destruction of the system. This trend is caused by the scavenging of secondary electrons by H₃O⁺ ions at the early stages of the process. The revealed channel of the radiation-chemical transformations was not taken into account in the previous models of testing the radiation resistance of crown-containing compositions designed for ⁹⁰Sr removal from radioactive wastes.