Preparation of phosphorus-containing levextrel resin for efficient separation of Lutetium/Ytterbium

The growing demand for high-specific-activity 177 Lu necessitates efficient Yb/Lu separation. This study synthesized and characterized novel phosphorus-containing levextrel resins. HEH(EHP)-based resin achieved over 99% Lu adsorption under low acidity with a separation factor ( SF Yb/Lu ) exceeding 3, while HDEHP-based resin showed faster kinetics. Using the optimized HDEHP/HEH(EHP)-XAD-7 resin, a three-cycle process yielded 94.98% Lu recovery, and a secondary separation achieved 83.37% Yb removal. These findings demonstrate the resin’s high efficacy for producing high-purity 177 Lu. Graphical abstract