Measurement of the 232Th(n, γ)233Th and 232Th(n, 2n)231Th reaction cross-sections at neutron energies of 8.04 ± 0.30 and 11.90 ± 0.35 MeV

The 232Th(n, γ)233Th and 232Th(n, 2n)231Th reaction cross-sections have been determined for the first time at average neutron energies of 8.04 ± 0.30 MeV and 11.90 ± 0.35 MeV using activation and off-line γ-ray spectrometric technique. The neutron beam was generated using 7Li(p, n) reaction. The experimentally determined cross-sections were compared with the evaluated nuclear data libraries of ENDF/B-VII and JENDL 4.0 and are found to be in good agreement. The 232Th(n, γ)233Th and 232Th(n, 2n)231Th reaction cross-sections were also calculated theoretically using TALYS 1.2 computer code and compared with the experimental data.

► 232Th(n, γ) and 232Th(n, 2n) cross-sections have been measured. ► The average neutron energies are 8.04 ± 0.30 and 11.90 ± 0.35 MeV. ► The measured cross-sections are in agreement with the values from TALYS-1.2 code. ► The cross sections are in agreement with ENDF/B-VII.0, JENDL-4.0 and JEFF 3.1 data.