PNNL

Abstract

Plutonium exhibits complex and unique redox chemistry. Its detection and quantification is pivotal for understanding behavior in environmental systems, including for remediation, consequence management, and nuclear forensic analyses. The objective of this work was to determine whether microprecipitation is a viable, rapid method for sample preparation as compared to standard methods. Here, neodymium fluoride microprecipitation was compared with electrodeposition and stippling, based on an evaluation of the peak full width half maximum, recovery of Pu-242 after analysis by alpha spectroscopy, and the time requirements for each method. These results highlight the robustness of microprecipitations under a range of conditions.