Reaction of Np, Am, and Cm ions with CO2 and O2 in a reaction cell in triple quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry†

Ultratrace analysis is crucial for understanding fuel debris in a nuclear reactor core after severe accidents. Triple quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry measured the ion–molecule reactions of actinides (²³⁷Np, ²⁴¹Am, and ²⁴⁴Cm) in a reaction cell. These nuclides were included in the fuel debris. A gas-phase ion–molecule reaction model has been developed to simulate the gas-phase reactions in the reaction cell. The model simulation results correlate well with the flow rate dependence of experimental data accurately. Reaction constants derived from the model were compared with those reported values by Fourier transform ion-cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry to evaluate the performance of the model. The similarity between the two reaction constants was found.