Developing Molecular Plating Capabilities at SJSU

For heavy element reactions, lanthanide and actinide targets are key components. In order to produce these targets, it is essential to utilize target production techniques capable of high efficiency. This reduces potential waste of radioactive or rare enriched isotopes. To build our group's process knowledge, we aim to develop molecular plating capabilities starting with neodymium targets. As a lanthanide, neodymium serves as a surrogate for our ultimate goal, radioactive actinide targets. Molecular plating is an electrochemical technique where a target species in its molecular form is dissolved in an organic solvent and deposited on an anode. To date, we successfully built and operated a molecular plating cell for neodymium nitrate. Initial tests yielded consistent depositions on titanium foil, demonstrating our plating cell's functionality. Here, we report on the ongoing target characterization efforts and our future plans.