Production of 129mXe and 131mXe via neutron activation of 128Xe and 130Xe at ILL-RHF and NCBJ-MARIA high-flux reactors

M Chojnacki; K Kulesz; I Michelon; N Azaryan; E Barbero; B Crepieux; R Lica; Ł Murawski; M Ziemba; M Piersa-Siłkowska; K Vitulova; A Korgul; R B Jolivet; R Prokopowicz; U Köster; M Kowalska

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111174

Production of ^129mXe and ^131mXe via neutron activation of ¹²⁸Xe and ¹³⁰Xe at ILL-RHF and NCBJ-MARIA high-flux reactors

Appl Radiat Isot. 2024 Mar:205:111174. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111174. Epub 2024 Jan 4.

Authors

M Chojnacki¹, K Kulesz¹, I Michelon², N Azaryan³, E Barbero⁴, B Crepieux⁴, R Lica⁵, Ł Murawski⁶, M Ziemba⁶, M Piersa-Siłkowska⁴, K Vitulova⁷, A Korgul⁸, R B Jolivet⁹, R Prokopowicz⁶, U Köster¹⁰, M Kowalska¹¹

Affiliations

¹ CERN, Espl. des Particules 1, Meyrin, CH-1211, Switzerland; University of Geneva, Quai Ernest-Ansermet 24, Geneva, 1211, Switzerland.
² CERN, Espl. des Particules 1, Meyrin, CH-1211, Switzerland; University of Padova, Via 8 Febbraio 2, Padova, 35122, Italy.
³ CERN, Espl. des Particules 1, Meyrin, CH-1211, Switzerland; Adam Mickiewicz University, ul. Uniwersytetu Poznanskiego 2, Poznan, 61-614, Poland.
⁴ CERN, Espl. des Particules 1, Meyrin, CH-1211, Switzerland.
⁵ CERN, Espl. des Particules 1, Meyrin, CH-1211, Switzerland; Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH), Reactorului 30 St., Bucharest-Magurele, 77125, Romania.
⁶ National Center for Nuclear Research (NCBJ), Andrzeja Sołtana 7, Otwock-Swierk, 05-400, Poland.
⁷ CERN, Espl. des Particules 1, Meyrin, CH-1211, Switzerland; Palacky University Olomouc, Krizkovskeho 511/8, Olomouc, CZ-799 00, Czech Republic.
⁸ University of Warsaw, Faculty of Physics, Krakowskie Przedmiescie 26/28, Warsaw, 02-093, Poland.
⁹ Maastricht Centre for Systems Biology (MaCSBio), Maastricht University, Paul-Henri Spaaklaan 1, Maastricht, 6229 EN, Netherlands.
¹⁰ Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), 71 Avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble, 38000, France.
¹¹ CERN, Espl. des Particules 1, Meyrin, CH-1211, Switzerland; University of Geneva, Quai Ernest-Ansermet 24, Geneva, 1211, Switzerland. Electronic address: magdalena.kowalska@cern.ch.

PMID: 38217938
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111174

Abstract

The long-lived xenon isomers ^129mXe and ^131mXe are of interest for the GAMMA-MRI project, which aims at developing a novel imaging modality based on magnetic resonance of polarized unstable tracers. Here, we present the steps leading to and following the production of these two isomers via neutron irradiation of highly-enriched ¹²⁸Xe and ¹³⁰Xe gas samples at two high-flux reactors, the High-Flux Reactor (Réacteur à haut flux, RHF) at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) and the MARIA reactor at the National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ). We describe the experimental setups and procedures used to prepare the stable xenon samples, to open the irradiated samples, and to transfer xenon isomers into reusable transport vials. The activity of ^129mXe and ^131mXe was measured to be in the range of tens of MBq per sample of 0.8(1)mg, and was proportional to thermal neutron flux density. A small activity of unstable contaminants was also visible in the samples, but their level is not limiting for the GAMMA-MRI project's objectives. In addition, the minimum thermal neutron flux density required to produce ^129mXe and ^131mXe sufficient for the project could be also determined.

Keywords: Neutron activation; Xenon radioisotopes production.