Bk and Cf chromatographic separation and ²⁴⁹Bk/²⁴⁸Cm and ²⁴⁹Cf/²⁴⁸Cm elemental ratios determination by inductively coupled plasma quadrupole mass spectrometry

A Gourgiotis; H Isnard; A Nonell; M Aubert; G Stadelmann; E Dupont; I AlMahamid; G Tiang; L Rao; W Lukens; P Cassette; S Panebianco; A Letourneau; F Chartier

doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2012.11.056

Bk and Cf chromatographic separation and ²⁴⁹Bk/²⁴⁸Cm and ²⁴⁹Cf/²⁴⁸Cm elemental ratios determination by inductively coupled plasma quadrupole mass spectrometry

Talanta. 2013 Mar 15:106:39-44. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2012.11.056. Epub 2012 Dec 10.

Authors

A Gourgiotis¹, H Isnard, A Nonell, M Aubert, G Stadelmann, E Dupont, I AlMahamid, G Tiang, L Rao, W Lukens, P Cassette, S Panebianco, A Letourneau, F Chartier

Affiliation

¹ Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, DEN/DPC/SEARS/LANIE, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France.

PMID: 23598093
DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2012.11.056

Abstract

The French Atomic Energy Commission has carried out several experiments for the study of minor-actinide transmutation processes in high intensity thermal neutron flux. In this context a Cm sample enriched in (248)Cm (∼97%) was irradiated in a thermal neutron flux at the High Flux Reactor (HFR) of the Laue-Langevin Institute (ILL). The precise and accurate determination of Cf isotope ratios and of (249)Bk/(248)Cm and (249)Cf/(248)Cm elemental ratios in the (248)Cm irradiated sample is crucial for the calculation of actinide neutron capture cross-sections. This work describes an analytical procedure for the separation and the isotope ratio measurement of Bk and Cf in the irradiated sample. The Bk and Cf separation is based on a lanthanides separation protocol previously developed by the laboratory. Well-defined retention times for Bk and Cf were obtained by coupling the Ionic Chromatography (IC) with an ICP-QMS. All conditions of element separation by IC and the different steps of the analytical protocol in order to obtain the isotopic and elemental ratios are presented. Relative uncertainties of Cf isotopic ratios range from 0.3% to 0.5% and the uncertainty of the (249)Bk/(248)Cm and (249)Cf/(248)Cm elemental ratios are respectively 6.1% and 3.2%. This level of uncertainty for both isotopic and elemental ratios is in perfect agreement with the requirement for transmutation studies.