High Specific Radioactivites of Cobalt, Platinum, and Iridium From
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Ames Laboratory ISC Technical Reports Ames Laboratory 12-1951 High specific ar dioactivites of cobalt, platinum, and iridium from photonuclear reactions Darleane Christian Iowa State College Don S. Martin Jr. Iowa State College Follow this and additional works at: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ameslab_iscreports Part of the Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Commons, Nuclear Commons, and the Quantum Physics Commons Recommended Citation Christian, Darleane and Martin, Don S. Jr., "High specific ar dioactivites of cobalt, platinum, and iridium from photonuclear reactions" (1951). Ames Laboratory ISC Technical Reports. 37. http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ameslab_iscreports/37 This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Ames Laboratory at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Ames Laboratory ISC Technical Reports by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. High specific ar dioactivites of cobalt, platinum, and iridium from photonuclear reactions Abstract The tta ainment of high specific cta ivities is an important requirement for the detect i on and utilization of radioactivities produced by photonuclear reactions. If an element different from the target element is produced suitable chemical procedures for the separation of the radioactive atoms from the target atoms can usually be found. However, finding rapid and efficient methods for separating isotopes of the target element formed by the (y,n) reaction presents a more difficult problem. To facilitate the study of the properties of cobalt and platinum actiities produced in the synchrotron by (y,n) reactions, an attempt was made to find complexes of these elements which would undergo Szilard-Chalmers type reactions. A portion of the study was also devoted to the investigation of the activities formed by photonuclear reactions in platinum when PtCl-4.xH-2O is irradiated in the x-ray beam of the synchrotron. Keywords Ames Laboratory Disciplines Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics | Nuclear | Physics | Quantum Physics This report is available at Iowa State University Digital Repository: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ameslab_iscreports/37 Physical Sciences Reading Room r ISC-197 HIGH SPECIFIC RADIOACTIVITIES OF COBALT, PLATINUM AND IRIDIUM FROM PHOTONUCLEAR REACTIONS By Dar leane Christian Don S. Martin, Jr. December 1951 Ames Laboratory II Tuhnl<al lnfa•matlan Se•vl<•, Oak Ridge, Tennouee PHYSICS Reproduced direct from copy as submitted to this office. PRINTED IN USA PRICE 70 CENTS Available from the Office of Technical Services Department of Commerce Washington 25, D. C. Work performed under Contract No. W-7405-eng-82. , AEC, Oak Ridge, Tenn.-W2471 7 -3- ISC-197 CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • . • . • • . • • • • • • • • • • • . • • . • • • • • • . • • • 7 INTRODUCTION ·············································.···· 9 REVIEW OF LITERATURE ooooetoooooooooo•ooooooooooooooooooooooooo 12 INSTR~NTS E}~LOYED 27 Synchrotron 27 Beta Counters o o •• o o ••••• o· •• o o o o 28 Windowless Gas Flow Type Geiger-Mueller Counter 28 Electrodeposition Apparatus oooo•o••• 29 Filtering Apparatus o. o ••••• o. o ••• o. 29 MATER!ALS 0 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 30 Preparation of Compl€xes 0 •• 0 0 • 0 ••••.• 30 Special Chemicals .. 31 Ion Exchange Resins 31 FXPERHlENT AL INVESTIGATIONS 32 Backscattering the Windowless Counter ••••••• 0 •••• 0 ••••• 0 32 Introduction •.•••.••••• 32 Experimental procedure 34 Results and discussion o•o••• 36 Cobalt-58 and Cobalt-58m ooo•••••••••••••••·•••oooooooooo 40 Choice of complex ooo••o•o• 40 Chemical procedure 41 Experimental procedure 46 Result s . ...•.. 51 X-Ray Irradiation of Platinum 0 .......................... 64 Objectives 0 • o 0 o o o • o. o o • o o 64 Procedures o •••••••••••••• 65 Calculations and results .70 SUMMARY 97 LITERATURE CITED 99 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .103 ISC-197 -4- LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Backscattering Curves for the Windowless Counter ....... Cl ••• o ••••••••••••••••• ., ct 39 Figure 2 o Self-Absorption Curve for Co 58m o••··········••o•• 50 Figure 3. Short Component from 1.0 Hour Irradiation of Cobalt ct o. o o. o. o o o o •••• o •• o •••••••••••••••••• IJ. 52 Figure 4. Long Component from 30.1 Hour Irradiation of Cobalt . o ••• o •• o •• ., o ••• o · •••••••••••••••••••• o • • 53 Figure 5. Platinum Fraction from 1.5 Hour Irradiation of ftCl4 oxH2o ...••.. o•················ 7l Figure 6. Self-Absorption and Self-Scattering Correction .i.' 'actors for 0. 7 Mev E max. of 18h Pt o • o •••• o ••• o •••••• o ••••••• o •••••••• 72 Figure 7. Iridium Fraction from 1.5 Hour Irradiation of PtCl4 oxH2o .... o • o ••••••••••••••••• 79 Figure 8. Aluminum Adsorption Curve for l9h Ir194 20 Hours after End of Irradiation •••••••••••••••• tn Figure 9o 140m Iridium Component from Irradiation 82 0 f Pt Cl 4 0 xH 20 o o o o o o o o o o o o o • o o o e o o o o o o o o o o o o • o o o o o Figure 10. Aluminum Absorption Curve of Combined 140m and l9h Iridium Activities 3 Hours after End of Irradiation ••o•••••••••••••••••••••• 83 Figure ll. Iridium Activities from 0.25 Hour Irradiation of PtCl 4 .xH2o ···••o•••··············· 87 -5- ISC-197 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Platinum Isotopes , • • • • • • • • . • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 19 Ptl9l Table 2. •• 0 • 0 0 • 0 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 20 193 Table 3. Pt 0 ••• 0 •• 0 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 21 Table 4. Pt 195m ( ? ) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 22 197 23 Table 5. pt •••••.•..•...•••••••••••••••••••••••••.•••••• v Table 6. Characteristics of Beta-emitters.................. 35 Table 7. Amount of Cobalt in Electrodeposition . Samples . • 44 Table 8a. Self-absorption Data for Co58m .3A'nples............. 49 Table 8b. Determinations of R2/R •......•..•••••••••••.••••• 59 - 1 Table 9. Co58m Yield Determinations ••••••••••••••••••••.••• 62 Table 10. Yields of Activities Produced in IrradiaU .ons of PtCl .xl-I 0...................................... 74 4 2 Table 11. Re sin Separations ...•••••••••••••.•.. .•.•.••.•...• 88 Table 12. Butyl Ac etate Extractions .••••••.•.•.•••••..•••.•. 90 Table 13. (NH) PtCl Precipitations ••••••.....••••.•....•.• 91 4 6 Table 14. Pt(NH) PtCl Precipitations •..••••.•••••.•••••.• 93 3 4 4 Table 15. Separation of Activity from 9.4 g of Pt ( NH ) Cl • . • • • • . • . • . • . • . • . • • . • • • • • 95 3 4 2 -7- ISC-197 HIGH SPECIFIC RADIOACTIVIT!mS OF COBALT, PLATINUM AND IRIDIUM FROM PHOTONUCLEAR REACTIONSl Darleane Christian and :bon S. Martin, Jr. ABSTRACT The attainment of high speci~ic activities is an important require- ment for the detect i on and utl~ization of radioactivities produced by photonuclear reactions. If an element different from the target element is. producedj sui table chemical procedures for the separation of the radioactive atoms from the target atoms can usually be found. However, finding rapid and efficient methods for separating isotopes of the target element formed by the (y,n) reaction presents a more di~ficult problem. To facilit ate the study of the properties of cobalt and platinum acti vi ties produced in the synchrotron by (y,n) ' reactions, an attempt was made to find complexes of these elements which woul d undergo Szilard-Chalmers type reactions. A portion of the study was also devoted to t he investigation of the activities formed by phot onuclear reactions in platinum when PtCl4.XH20 is irradiated in the x-ray beam of t he synchrotron. Samples of K3[co(c2o4 )3].3H20 were irradiated in the X-ray berom of the 68 Mev synchrotron. ~e Szilard-Chalmers process appeared to be nearly 100 per cent effect ive in ejecting the radioactive coba~t atoms from the complex. The 9.2h co58m and the 72d co58 formed during the irradiation were separated from the complex in high specific activ ities by adsorpti on on IRC-50 cation exchange resin. A solution of the complex was prepared from active cobalt separated ~his repor t was based on a Doctoral thesis by ·Darleane Christian submi tted in December 1951. ISC-197 -8- in this way. A method utilizing the chemical decomposition .of the complex which occurred as a result of the decay of Co58m to Co58 by the emission of conversion electrons, was used to calculate the rati.o of the rates of formation of the two isomers. In these experiments the rati o of the rate of formation of Co58 to the rate of formation of co58m was found to be 0.61 ± 0.04. The total saturation yield of co58m and co58 relative to ell was determined to be 8.6. It was nece.ssary to use a. windowless Geiger-Mueller type gas flow counter to detect the low energy radiation of Co58m. Some preliminary experiments to determine the backscattering corrections for this · counter were therefore performed. The backscattering of four different betaemitters ranging in energy from .0.067 to 1.7 Mev was investigated. T'ne backscattering was found to be a function of the atomic number of the backscatterer. With platinum backing, the backscattering appeared to have reached a saturation value and was nearly the same for all of these beta energies. The over-all efficiency of the counter was about 78 per cent for samples mounted on platinum. In synchrotron irradiations of FtCl4 .xH20, 88m, l8h and 4d platinum activities and 7m, 140m, l9h~ and 70d iridium activities were detected. Their yields relative to that of the l8h Ptl97 and the 33m Cl34 were determined • . The mass assignments