Radiochemical measurement of neutron-spectrum averaged cross sections for the formation of 64Cu and 67Cu via the (n,p) reaction at a TRIGA Mark-II reactor: Feasibility of simultaneous production of the theragnostic pair 64Cu/67Cu

Abstract

Abstract Integral cross sections of the 64Zn(n, p)64Cu and 67Zn(n, p)67Cu reactions were measured for the fast neutron spectrum of TRIGA Mark-II reactor at Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh. A clean radiochemical separation was performed to isolate the copper radionuclides from the target element zinc. The radioactivities produced in the irradiation were measured by HPGe γ-ray spectroscopy. The neutron flux over the energy range 0.5–20 MeV was determined using the 58Ni(n, p)58Co monitor reaction. The measured results amount to 28.9 ± 2.0 mb and 0.84 ± 0.07 mb for the formation of 64Cu and 67Cu, respectively. These values are slightly lower than the respective values for a pure fission spectrum. The present results were compared with data calculated using the neutron spectral distribution and the recently critically analysed excitation function of each reaction given in the literature. The good agreement validates the reliability of those excitation functions. The feasibility of simultaneous production of 64Cu and 67Cu with fast neutrons is discussed.