搜索

x
中国物理学会期刊

40-80 MeV能区p+232Th核反应产生重要放射性医用同位素的反应截面实验测量

Measurement of reaction cross sections for producing important radioactive medical isotopes via the p+232Th nuclear reaction in the 40-80 MeV energy region

PDF
导出引用
  • 232Th具有天然放射性低、化学稳定性好以及易于加工制靶等特性,已成为生产医用同位素的重要靶材之一。利用中高能质子束轰击232Th,可通过核反应同时获得多种产额可观的医用同位素。然而由于质子束流应用的局限性以及同位素产生机制研究的相对滞后,p+232Th核反应产生重要医用核素的截面实验测量研究仍显不足,导致同位素生产研究缺乏关键数据支撑。本研究旨在测量p+232Th核反应产生重要医用同位素的反应截面,在中国散裂中子源的伴生质子束实验平台上,利用40-80 MeV能量的质子对氧化钍薄片开展辐照实验,基于活化法与离线γ射线能谱技术,获得了不同医用同位素的产生截面。实验结果与EXFOR数据库中的已有实验数据以及TENDL库中的理论评价数据进行了对比,并利用实验数据进一步评估了质子轰击钍靶产生不同医用放射性同位素的产额。本工作是在中国散裂中子源伴生质子束实验平台上首次开展的质子诱发核反应截面测量研究,为p+232Th核反应生产医用同位素提供了关键参考数据。

     

    Thorium-232 (232Th) has been recognized as a promising target material for medical radioisotope production, owing to its low natural radioactivity, good chemical stability, and ease of fabrication. Multiple medically important isotopes—including diagnostic nuclides such as 99Mo and therapeutic α-emitters like 223Ra and 225Ra—can be produced simultaneously with considerable yields when bombarded with medium-to high-energy protons via the p+232Th reaction. However, experimental cross-section data for such reactions remain insuffcient and fragmented due to limitations in proton beam application at intermediate energies and delayed progress in nuclear mechanism studies, which hinders the optimization of isotope production strategies and validation of theoretical models. In this work, the production cross sections for key medical isotopes from the p+232Th reaction were systematically measured. Irradiation experiments were performed on high-purity thorium oxide targets, fabricated via a high-temperature sintering process to overcome brittleness, using 40-80 MeV protons at the Associated Proton-beam Experiment Platform (APEP) of the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS). The activation method combined with off-line γ-ray spectroscopy using a calibrated HPGe detector was employed. Proton flux were monitored via the natCu(p,x)58Co reaction, and activities were corrected for cooling and counting times to obtain endof-bombardment values. The measured excitation functions were compared with existing EXFOR data, TENDL evaluations, and FLUKA simulations where TENDL data were unavailable. For most nuclides, our results agree well with previous experiments but are systematically lower than TENDL predictions, indicating a need for further benchmarking. Notably, this work measures the first cross-section data for 88Y and 153Sm in the 40-80 MeV range, filling the existing gaps. In addition, we assessed integral yields for a 5 g/cm2 thorium target under six days of continuous 1 μA irradiation, which indicate that yields for 99Mo, 111Ag, and 131I reach tens of millicuries and provide general guidance for optimizing production and controlling impurities. This work constitutes the first cross-section measurement of proton-induced reactions carried out at the CSNS APEP, and the results enrich the experimental nuclear database and provide valuable reference data for medical isotope production via the p+232Th reaction.

     

    目录

    /

    返回文章
    返回