Electrodeposition progress report, September 1--30, 1948

Two difficulties which have been encountered in the attempts to prepare hydrofluoric acid solutions by precipitation and resolution are (1) dissolution of postum out of the solid precipitate leaving behind a solid bismuth compound and (2) the plastics used for a reaction vessel. Plastics tried have not held up under the combined effects of hydrofluoric acid, moderate heat, and alpha bombardment and the overall yield of the method is rather low. The plastics problem may be solved by the use of ``Fluorothene`` which is on order from the Atomic Energy Commission and should arrive soon. The problem of leaching the postum from the precipitate may be solved by careful control of pH during precipitation procedure to avoid the precipitation of as much bismuth as possible