Preparation of 237Pu from 237Np irradiated with deuterons

Abstract

The suitability of the reaction ${}^{237}\text{Np(d, 2n)}{}^{237}\text{Pu}$ for preparing this useful plutonium tracer is confirmed. This involved measuring excitation functions and thick target yields for ${}^{236}\text{Pu}$, ${}^{237}\text{Pu}$, ${}^{238}\text{Pu}$ using deuteron energies from 9 to 25 MeV. The obtainable radiochemical purity of ${}^{237}\text{Pu}$ is demonstrated as a function of the irradiation conditions.