Rapid preparation of Uranium and Thorium alpha sources by electroplating technique

Abstract In this study, a simple procedure for the radiochemical determination of thorium isotopes and a robust technique for rapid preparation of uranium and thorium alpha source by electro-deposition using organic buffer solution is described. From the experiments, experience has shown that (1) TOPO is one of the best solvent for the extraction of thorium, (2) isopropyl alcohol is a suitable buffer solution for the electrodepositing of uranium; while acetone is the best choice in case of thorium, (3) the possibility of using of organic phase; containing thorium in the final chemical separation step for electrodepositing, (4) the use of only 3–5 ml of isopropyl alcohol or acetone; 3–5 mm of anode-cathode distance and relatively current 4–15 mA for electro-deposition procedure, (5) the actinides can be deposited quantitatively on a stainless steel disk within 20 to 40 min with nearly 100% of electro-deposition efficiency and the energy resolution of alpha-ray spectra of the electrode-posited sources obtained from alpha spectrometry are within the range of 37–50 KeV (FWHM).