β-MoO Whiskers in Mo/Tc Radioisotope Production and Mo/Tc Extraction Using Hot Atoms.

β-MoO whiskers prepared by a thermal evaporation method and α-MoO particles were irradiated in a nuclear reactor to produce Mo/Tc radioisotopes via neutron capture. The irradiated targets were then dispersed in water to extract the Mo/Tc isotopes. Of the Mo formed in the β-MoO whiskers, 64.0 ± 7.4% was extracted with water; by contrast, only 8.8 ± 2.6% of the Mo formed in α-MoO was extracted. By comparing these data to the Mo concentration dissolved in water, we confirmed the hot-atom effect on both β-MoO whisker and α-MoO particle targets to transfer Mo isotopes from irradiated samples to water. In addition, the β-MoO whiskers exhibited a prominent hot-atom effect to transfer a higher ratio of Mo isotopes into water. To the best of our knowledge, this research is the first demonstration of β-MoO being used as an irradiation target in the neutron capture method. On the basis of the results, β-MoO is considered a promising irradiation target for producing Mo/Tc by neutron capture and using water for the radioisotope extraction process in the future.