Measurement of fission neutron spectrum averaged cross sections of some threshold reactions on zinc: small-scale production of no-carrier-added Cu-64 in a nuclear reactor

摘要

Fission neutron spectrum averaged cross sections of some threshold reactions like (n, p), (n, alpha) and (n, 2n.) on zinc were measured using the activation technique in conibination with radiochemical separations and high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy. Special attention was paid to the formation of Cu-64 via the Zn-64(n,p)Cu-64 reaction since Cu-64 labeled compounds are potentially important radiophannaceuticals. At a fast neutron flux density of 7.5 x 10(13) cm(-2) s(-1) and using a 100% enriched Zn-64 target, 35GBq activity of no-carrier-added Cu-64 per batch Could be produced. The process seems to be interesting from the medical application viewpoint, if a cyclotron is not available. A fast neutron Source, on the other hand, would lead to significantly higher yield of Cu-64.