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Molecular plating of Am-241 on a Schottky metal contact

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Abstract

This paper describes a molecular plating method in which americium-241 (Am-241) was directly deposited onto a 4.8 mm x 4.8 mm Schottky electrode of 4 H-SiC devices. The plating solution consists of isopropanol and dilute nitric acid. Plating was conducted for one hour using a high voltage between 300 and 600 V to plate the radionuclide. A gasket with an aluminized mylar contact surface was added to a traditional disposable electrodeposition cell to accommodate the small size of the diode. Deposition recoveries of 50–65% have been consistently achieved using 20–30 nCi of Am-241 with minimal damage to the diode surface.

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Acknowledgements

This material is based upon work partially supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant# IIP-1853888 to the American Society for Engineering Education for the Innovative Postdoctoral Entrepreneurial Research Fellowship. This material is also based upon work partially supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase II under Award# (FAIN): 1853115. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the American Society for Engineering Education. Finally, this material is based upon work partially supported by the Department of Energy / National Nuclear Security Administration under Award Number(s) DE-NA0003921. This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States 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 privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Lei R. Cao and Vasil Hlinka hold equity interests with AwareAbility Technologies. Lei R. Cao and R. Gregory Downing receive compensation from the company for consulting. All other authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. AwareAbility Technologies, 1275 Kinnear Rd., Suite 246, 43212, Columbus, OH, USA

    M. Kathryn Hoffman, Sha Xue, R. Gregory Downing & Vasil Hlinka

  2. Nuclear & Radiological Engineering Program, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Cincinnati, 2600 Clifton Ave, 45221, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    M. Kathryn Hoffman, Henry B. Spitz, Patrick H. Bissmeyer & Sriharsha Mangu

  3. Nuclear Engineering Program, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Ohio State University, W 19th Avenue, 43210, Columbus, OH, USA

    Lei R. Cao

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  1. M. Kathryn Hoffman
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Correspondence to M. Kathryn Hoffman.

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Hoffman, M.K., Spitz, H.B., Bissmeyer, P.H. et al. Molecular plating of Am-241 on a Schottky metal contact. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 331, 5423–5431 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-022-08504-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-022-08504-w

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