Systematic study of thin barium/radium target production using electroplating method

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Chemistry
• Radiochemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Accurate excitation function evaluation is vital for nuclear reaction studies.
• Thin, homogeneous radium targets are essential for producing Actinium-225 (Ac-225) via nuclear reactions with Radium-226 (Ra-226).
• Electrodeposition is a common technique for producing thin film targets.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and optimize an electroplating method for producing thin, homogeneous Radium-226 targets.
• To investigate the effects of various parameters on the electrodeposition process.
• To achieve high deposition efficiency and deposit quality for nuclear applications.

Main Methods:

• Electroplating of Radium-226 (Ra-226) using Barium (Ba) as a chemical homologue, spiked with Radium-223 (Ra-223) for efficiency evaluation.
• Systematic investigation of chemical and physical parameters influencing the electrodeposition process.
• Characterization of deposit homogeneity and morphology using optical microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), profilometry, and radioluminography.

Main Results:

• Identified optimal conditions for electrodeposition of radium targets.
• Achieved stable and homogeneous deposits on Aluminum (Al) substrates.
• Obtained a high deposition efficiency of 69(3)% in the optimized process.

Conclusions:

• The developed electroplating method is effective for producing high-quality, homogeneous radium targets.
• The optimized process yields efficient deposition suitable for nuclear reaction studies.
• This work facilitates the production of Ac-225 through Ra-226 nuclear reactions.