Electrodeposition of U and Pu on thin C and Ti substrates

Preparation of Pu and U targets on thin natural C (100 μg/cm2) and Ti (2 and 3 μm) substrates is described. The actinide material of interest was first purified using ion exchange chromatography to remove any matrix contaminants or decay products present in the parent stock solution. The actinide solution was prepared in 0.05 M HNO3 with a final aliquot volume not exceeding 100 μL for the deposition procedure. The electroplating cells were developed in-house and were primarily made of Teflon. The source material deposited ranged from 125 to 400 μg/cm2. It was determined that multiple layers of U and Pu were required to produce thicker targets on Ti. Plating efficiency was greatly affected by the cell volume, solution aliquot size, pre-treatment of the foils, solution mixing during plating, and the fit of the electrode contact with the target substrate. The final procedure used for deposition is described in detail.