Synergistic aqueous biphasic separation of 90Nb and 89Zr from natY using green tea derived catechins

Environmentally benign aqueous biphasic separation (ABS) methods for separation of no-carrier added (NCA) 90Nb and 89Zr from alpha particle irradiated natY target have been developed using nature resourced chemical, catechins, which is the most abundant polyphenol in green tea. 90Nb was preferentially extracted in the catechins-PEG 6000 phase with a separation factor of 1.04 × 103 where the salt phase was NaHSO3. Similarly, 89Zr was also preferentially extracted in the catechins-PEG 6000 phase with a separation factor of 1.92 × 104, where the salt phase was Na2SO4.