Preparation of a one-curie 171Tm target for the Detector for Advanced Neutron Capture Experiments (DANCE)
Roughly one curie of 171Tm (t1/2=1.92a) has been produced and purified for the purpose of making a nuclear target for the first measurements of its neutron capture cross section. Target preparation consisted of three key steps: (1) material production; (2) separation and purification; and (3) electrodeposition onto a suitable backing material. Approximately 1.5 mg of the target material (at the time of separation) was produced by irradiating roughly 250 mg of its stable enriched 170Er lanthanide neighbor with neutrons at the ILL reactor in France. This production method resulted in a “difficult-to-separate” 1:167 mixture of near-neighboring lanthanides, Tm and Er. Separation and purification was accomplished using high-performance liquid chromatorgraphy (HPLC), with a proprietary cation exchange column (Dionex, CS-3) and alpha-hydroxyisobutyric acid (a-HIB) eluent. This technique yielded a final product of ~95% purity with respect to Tm. A portion (20 ug) of the Tm was electrodeposited on thin Be foil and delivered to the Los Alamos Neutron Science CEnter (LANSCE) for preliminary analysis of its neutron capture cross section using the Detector for Advanced Neutron Capture Experiments (DANCE). This paper discusses the major hurdles associated with the separation and purification step including, scale-up issues related to the use of HPLC for material separation and purification of the target material from a-HIB and 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol (PAR) colorant.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 947916
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-49324; JRNCDM; TRN: US0901523
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 276(2):533-542, Vol. 276, Issue 2; ISSN 0236-5731
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
CAPTURE
CATIONS
CROSS SECTIONS
ELECTRODEPOSITION
HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY
MIXTURES
NEUTRON REACTIONS
NEUTRONS
PRODUCTION
PURIFICATION
RARE EARTHS
TARGETS
HPLC
a-HIB
PAR
lanthanide
rare earth
separation
molecular plating
electrodeposition