Integration of a hyphenated HPIC-ICPMS protocol for the measurement of transplutonium isotopic mass distributions for 252Cf campaigns at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Abstract

Rapid measurement of transplutonium isotopic mass distributions during 252Cf production campaigns at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a critical need. Mass measurements for the isotopes of plutonium, americium, curium, and californium are routinely requested to support the α-hydroxy-isobutyrate runs for the purification and recovery of the heavy curium target material and final 249Bk, 252Cf, and 254Es enriched isotope products. This paper presents the integration of an online high-pressure ion chromatography inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry technique together with the protocol and chemistry that allows for rapid baseline separation and direct quantification of the transplutonium elemental concentrations and isotopic compositions.