Determination of k0-values for the reactions 94Zr (n, γ) 95Zr and 96Zr (n, γ) 97Zr–97mNb by irradiation in highly thermalized neutron flux

Determination of k0-factors for zirconium isotopes was performed by co-irradiation of Zr and Au–Al. Due to the highly thermalized irradiation position at FRM-II, interferences from epithermal neutrons were found largely decreased for 96Zr (n, γ) 97Zr–97mNb, the reaction with the highest Q0-value in all (n, γ) reactions. Results showed that, the 95Zr k0-values from this work were the same as the recommended ones. For 97Zr–97mNb 743.4 keV gamma-line, the new k0-value was 2.8% higher compared to the recommended value, which is not a significant difference. These results are helpful in clarifying the suspicion about the Zr k0-factors.