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PIXE research at the 4.5-MV Dynamitron laboratory of the Faculty of Engineering, Tohoku University started as a joint project between Cyclotron and Radioisotope Center(CYRIC), Tohoku University, and the Dynamitron laboratory. The PIXE equipments including vertical beam in air PIXE system called ViaPIXE was installed at a vacant beam course of the Dynamitron laboratory. Some PIXE experiments conducted at this facility as well future PIXE research in this laboratory are briefly described.

The enrichment procedure of heavy metals (Fe³⁺, Co²⁺, and Hg²⁺) in water was examined in conjunction with in-air PIXE. The preconcentration step consisted of adsorption of dibenzyldithiocarbamate complexes of the metal ions onto dibenzylidene-D-sorbitol gels. The colloidal gels in solutions were then collected on a nuclepore membrane for direct irradiation by proton beams in a system of vertical beam type in-air PIXE. The amounts of the chemicals used in the enrichment were minimized to prepare thin target specimens with the homogeneous composition. The metal-recovery in the preconcentration step was confirmed to be quantitative in a wide range of the concentrations. The reproducibility and detection limit were shown and discussed for the present setup of PIXE analysis in our laboratory.