Production of zirconium-88 via proton irradiation of metallic yttrium and preparation of target for neutron transmission measurements at DICER

Artem V Matyskin; Athanasios Stamatopoulos; Ellen M O'Brien; Brad J DiGiovine; Veronika Mocko; Michael E Fassbender; C Etienne Vermeulen; Paul E Koehler

doi:10.1038/s41598-023-27993-7

Production of zirconium-88 via proton irradiation of metallic yttrium and preparation of target for neutron transmission measurements at DICER

Sci Rep. 2023 Jan 31;13(1):1736. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-27993-7.

Authors

Artem V Matyskin^{1

2}, Athanasios Stamatopoulos³, Ellen M O'Brien⁴, Brad J DiGiovine^{3

5}, Veronika Mocko⁴, Michael E Fassbender⁴, C Etienne Vermeulen⁴, Paul E Koehler³

Affiliations

¹ Chemistry Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USA. matyskin.artem@gmail.com.
² Radiation Science and Engineering Center, Pennsylvania State University, 135 Breazeale Nuclear Reactor, University Park, PA, 16802, USA. matyskin.artem@gmail.com.
³ Physics Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USA.
⁴ Chemistry Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USA.
⁵ Q Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USA.

Abstract

A process for the production of tens to hundreds of GBq amounts of zirconium-88 (⁸⁸Zr) using proton beams on yttrium was developed. For this purpose, yttrium metal targets (≈20 g) were irradiated in a ~16 to 34 MeV proton beam at a beam current of 100-200 µA at the Los Alamos Isotope Production Facility (IPF). The ⁸⁸Zr radionuclide was produced and separated from the yttrium targets using hydroxamate resin with an elution yield of 94(5)% (1σ). Liquid DCl solution in D₂O was selected as a suitable ⁸⁸Zr sample matrix due to the high neutron transmission of deuterium compared to hydrogen and an even distribution of ⁸⁸Zr in the sample matrix. The separated ⁸⁸Zr was dissolved in DCl and 8 µL of the obtained solution was transferred to a tungsten sample can with a 1.2 mm diameter hole using a syringe and automated filling station inside a hot cell. Neutron transmission of the obtained ⁸⁸Zr sample was measured at the Device for Indirect Capture Experiments on Radionuclides (DICER).

Grants and funding

20200108DR/Los Alamos National Laboratory