Carrier-free \({^{202}\textrm{Tl}}\) was thermally separated from proton-irradiated \({^\textrm{nat}\textrm{HgO}}\) . Pressed \({^\textrm{nat}\textrm{HgO}}\) targets were irradiated with \(\approx {26}\,\textrm{MeV}\) protons at the IP2 beamline of the high-intensity proton accelerator facility at the Paul Scherrer Institute. The well-known thermal decomposition of \(\textrm{HgO}\) at \(>{470}\,^\circ\) C and the strong adsorption of \(\textrm{Tl}\) on a \(\textrm{Ta}\) surface allowed for a simple and quantitative gas-phase separation of carrier-free \(\textrm{Tl}\) from bulk amounts of \(\textrm{HgO}\) target material between 550 and \({670}\,^\circ\) °C. The separation efficiency was verified by \(\gamma\) -spectroscopy via the main \(\gamma\) -emissions of \({^{202}\textrm{Tl}}\) and co-produced \({^{203}\textrm{Hg}}\) . This method generally provides a fast and reliable preparation of carrier-free, neutron-deficient \(\textrm{Tl}\) radioisotopes (e.g., medically relevant \({^{201}\textrm{Tl}}\) ) from a proton-irradiated \({^\textrm{nat}\textrm{HgO}}\) matrix.