Production and separation of carrier-free 7Be

• Carrier-free 7Be produced through proton bombardment of LiOH⁎Al target.
• Cation exchange chromatography method established for recovery of beryllium.
• High decontamination factors obtained for beryllium from lithium and aluminum.

A high-purity carrier-free 7Be was efficiently isolated following proton bombardment of a lithium hydroxide–aluminum target. The separation of beryllium from lithium and aluminum was achieved through a hydrochloric acid elution system utilizing cation exchange chromatography. The beryllium recovery, +99%, was assessed through gamma spectroscopy while the chemical purity was established by mass spectrometry. The decontamination factors of beryllium from lithium and aluminum were determined to be 6900 and 300, respectively.