https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-024-05225-9
Regular Article
Assessment of impurity production upon 14 MeV fusion neutron irradiation of both natural and isotopically enriched 
Mo samples
1
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
2
Albert Einstein Centre for Fundamental Physics (AEC), Laboratory for High Energy Physics (LHEP), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
3
La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
4
ENEA - Department of Fusion and Technologies for Nuclear Safety and Security, Rome, Italy
5
ENEA-Italian National Institute of Ionizing Radiation Metrology, Rome, Italy
6
ENEA-FSN-Superconductivity Section, Frascati, Italy
Received:
25
November
2022
Accepted:
17
April
2024
Published online:
6
September
2024
Tc, a decay product of 
Mo, is the most widely used radionuclide in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Currently, Mo is mainly produced by nuclear reactors as isotope separation from fission products by 
U-enriched (HEU or LEU) uranium targets. Due to problems related to the ageing of nuclear fission reactors, new techniques are presently taken into consideration. In this paper, the Mo production based on the Mo(n,2n)Mo reaction route, using 14 MeV fusion neutrons, is investigated. To this end, two samples were tested, manufactured as natural molybdenum metallic powder encapsulated in a container and Mo-enriched molybdenum metallic pellet, respectively. The main goal of the experimental investigation was to determine the isotope inventory, as well as the amount of impurities generated in the neutron-irradiated samples. The experimental results were compared to numerical calculations obtained by means of MCNP and FISPACT-II codes. A prediction of the expected activity of Mo under the aforementioned irradiation conditions is also provided for the future high-brilliance 14 MeV neutron source named SORGENTINA-RF.
© The Author(s) 2024
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