Preparation of boric-10 acid applied in nuclear industry

Abstract

Because of the superior features of boron-10 isotope in absorbing hot neutrons, boric-10 acid (H₃ ¹⁰BO₃) has been used widely in nuclear industry. Boric-10 acid is obtained from boron-10 trifluoride (¹⁰BF₃) by esterification and hydrolyzation. In this study, trimethyl borate-10 [(CH₃O)₃ ¹⁰B] was prepared from boron-10 trifluoride (¹⁰BF₃) through chemical exchange rectification. In addition, the hydrolyzation of trimethyl borate-10 was investigated with different pH values, temperatures and molar ratios of water to trimethyl borate-10. Under the optimum process conditions, high yield of boric-10 acid with nuclear industrial purity grade was realized.

Keywords

boric-10 acid / nuclear industry / boron trifluoride / trimethyl borate

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