Nickel-63 is an important isotope that is used to make betavoltaic batteries and electron capture detectors. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), 63Ni is produced using enriched 62Ni targets via the (n,γ) reaction. The enriched material is pressed into small pellets and placed into housings called rabbits. The rabbits go into the High Flux Isotope Reactor at ORNL for up to fifteen 25-day cycles to produce the maximum amount of 63Ni. For each campaign, the aim is to produce 600 Ci of 63Ni, from approximately 40 g of highly enriched 62Ni. The irradiated 62Ni is transferred from the reactor to the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center for bulk processing. The bulk of 60Co is removed from 63Ni product before undergoing a fine process to remove the remaining 60Co and Sc from the 63Ni product.

Nickel-63 production at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.