Studies in the nuclear chemistry of plutonium, americium, and curium and masses of the heaviest elements

Thesis/Dissertation · Tue Apr 20 00:00:00 EST 1954

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1004152· OSTI ID:1004152

Glass, Richard Alois ^[1]

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1. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

Ion exchange column elution methods for the separation of americium and curium using tartrate and lactate solutions have been developed which are superior to citrate elutions. Tartrate elutions are suitable for slow separations and lactate elutions are satisfactory for general use where rapid separations are required. Fission and spallation products were isolated from Pu²³⁹ targets which had been bombarded with alpha particles of 21 to 37 Mev energy. Fission yield curves as well as fission and spallation excitation functions are presented and discussed in terms of odd-even and Z²/A effects. The high cross sections observed for the (a, 2n) and (a, p2n) reactions were surprising results from this investigation. In the course of the Pu²³⁹ bombardments, studies of the decay schemes of Am²⁴⁰, Cm²⁴⁰, and Cm²⁴¹ were undertaken. Decay energy and half-1ife information on all of the transmercury nuclides has been collected and systematized. Trends on the energy surface for alpha energies, beta energies, nucleon binding energies, and Bohr-Wheeler parameters are presented. These energy systematics have led to a complete tabulation of the masses of the isotopes of the elements above mercury. Predictions of nuclear properties are included for some isotopes of elements 99 through 103.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 1004152
• Report Number(s): UCRL-2560; TRN: US201104%%905
• Resource Relation: Related Information: Designation of Academic Dissertation: Doctoral Thesis; Academic Degree: Ph.D.; Name of Academic Institution: UC Berkeley
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY
ALPHA PARTICLES
AMERICIUM
CITRATES
CROSS SECTIONS
CURIUM
DECAY
EXCITATION FUNCTIONS
FISSION
FISSION YIELD
ION EXCHANGE
ISOTOPES
LACTATES
MERCURY
NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY
NUCLEAR PROPERTIES
NUCLEONS
PLUTONIUM
SPALLATION
SPALLATION FRAGMENTS
TARTRATES