Abstract
Sol–gel vitrification can be used to rapidly produce solid, vitreous materials to support nuclear forensics research. This work investigates three sol–gel synthetic approaches’ ability to retain fission products within the glass as a function of drying temperature. Eight of the ten fission products studied were quantitatively retained (less than 5% losses) at temperatures up to 600 °C for glasses prepared using an acidic catalyst and at temperatures up to 300 °C for glasses prepared using a basic catalyst. Both systems show partial loss of ruthenium and complete loss of iodine at temperatures above 300 and 100 °C, respectively.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr. Edna Cardenas for assistance with arranging logistics for the irradiation experiment, Dr. Justin Cooper for guidance and advice with sol-gel chemistry preparation, and for the Idaho Accelerator Center staff, Kevin Folkman, Chad O’Neil, Brian Berls, and John Longley for their assistance in performing the irradiations. This material is based upon work supported by the National Nuclear Security Administration, Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation. Neither the U.S. Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe on privately owned rights. References herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, do not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the U.S. Government or any agency thereof. Views and opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Government or any agency thereof.
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Lusk, R., Meiers, J., Bucher, B. et al. Retention of radionuclides in sol–gel surrogate nuclear explosive debris. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 332, 683–689 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-022-08716-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-022-08716-0