SEMIPERMEABLE-MEMBRANE TO RETAIN PLATINUM ATOMS IN THE ELECTRODEPOSITION PROCESS OF ALPHA-SPECTROMETRY SOURCES

In earlier work alpha sources electrodeposited on stainless steel back ings were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Rutherford backscat tering spectrometry (RBS) finding that during the electrodeposition pr ocess large quantities of platinum from the anode were deposited on th e cathode surface jointly with the actinides. In the present work, a m ethod to retain platinum atoms using an electrodeposition cell with a semipermeable membrane located between anode and cathode is proposed a nd tested. The XRF and RES of alpha sources electrodeposited using thi s method show that there is less platinum an the stainless steel backi ng, thereby improving the quality of sources to be measured by alpha s pectrometry. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.