Electrodeposition of Uranium and Plutonium on Thin Carbon and Titanium Substrates

Abstract

Preparation of Pu and U targets on thin natural C (100 {micro}g/cm{sup 2}) and ti (2 and 3 {micro}m) substrates is described. The Actinide material of interest was first purified using ion exchange chromatography to remove any matrix contaminants or decay products present in the parent stock solution. The actinide solution was prepared in 0.05 M HNO{sub 3} with a final aliquot volume not exceeding 100 {micro}L for the deposition procedure. The electroplating cells were developed in-house and were primarily made of Teflon. The source material deposited ranged from 125 to 400 {micro}g/cm{sup 2}. It was determined that multiple layers of U and Pu were required to produce thicker targets on Ti. Plating efficiency was greatly affected by the cell volume, solution aliquot size, pre-treatment of the foils, solution mixing during palting, and the fit of the electrode contact with the target substrate. The final procedure used for deposition is described in detail