Spectrophotometric Determination of Nitrate Ion in Presence of Chloride Matrix

⁸⁹Sr a radionuclide used for bone pain palliation — is produced in Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) via the ⁸⁹Y (n, p) ⁸⁹Sr reaction. The final ⁸⁹Sr source is obtained after processing the irradiated Y₂ O₃ target using nitric acid. The final product ⁸⁹Sr is injected in HCl medium whose concentration must be 0.05–0.5M. The final product which was obtained after the chemical processing in the nitric acid is converted into its chloride form. The estimation of nitrate ion in the ⁸⁹Sr source is an indication of i) the efficiency of the conversion and ii) the ⁸⁹Sr source is free from the nitrate ion impurity. Hence it is necessary to determine the presence of nitrate in the product. So a method was developed in the laboratory to estimate the nitrate ion concentration in presence of bulk chloride ion concentration by spectrophotometric method.