Excitation functions of 3He- and α-particle induced nuclear reactions on natSb for production of medically relevant 123I and 124I radioisotopes

Excitation functions were measured using the stacked foil irradiation technique from threshold energies to 28 MeV for 3He- and to 21 MeV for α-particle induced nuclear reactions on natural antimony leading to the formation of 121,123,124I radioisotopes. The measured excitation functions were compared with the contradicting results of the earlier investigations found in the literature and with the curves predicted by the ALICE-IPPE and EMPIRE-II codes. Integral yields were also calculated and compared with the experimental thick target yields reported in the literature.