Cross Section Of The Zr-96(Alpha,N)Mo-99 Reaction Induced By Alpha-Particles Beams On Zr-Nat Target

The excitation function of the Zr-96 (alpha,n)Mo-99 reaction was determined using the stacked-foil activation technique. For the experiments, two stacks with metal foils of Cu, Ti and Zr of natural isotopic composition were irradiated independently with a 27.2 MeV alpha-particle beam. The characteristics of the primary beam and its verification along each stack were determined according to the well-known Cu-nat(alpha,x)Zn-65, Cu-nat(alpha,x)Ga-66,Ga-67, and Ti-nat (alpha,x)Cr-51 monitor reactions. It was deduced that the expected production yield from Mo-99 by irradiating Zr-96 targets with a 23.8 MeV alpha particle beam for 1 h is 1.77 MBq/mu A. According to the results, irradiation characteristics are proposed to produce Mo-99 with high specific activity.