Practical Exercises in Nuclear Chemistry

Relations:

In order to register for the course 15PJCH, the student must have successfully completed or received credit for and not exhausted all examination dates for the course 15JACH2. The course 15PJCH can be graded only after the course 15JACH2 has been successfully completed.

Course guarantor:

Kateřina Čubová

Lecturer:

Pavel Bartl, Kateřina Čubová, Miroslava Semelová

Tutor:

Pavel Bartl, Kateřina Čubová, Miroslava Semelová

Supervisor:

Department of Nuclear Chemistry

Synopsis:

The exercise give the students practical introduction to fundamental priciples of nuclear processes such as radionuclide decay, preparation of radionuclides with thermal neutron activation and utilization of radioactive equlibrium e.g. in radionuclide generators. The nuclear chemistry / radiochemistry processes such as Szilard-Chalmers effects, and principles of coprecipitation are demonstrated, too.

Requirements:

Bachelor in Nuclear chemistry or equivalent.

Admission to the practical course is conditional upon passing an entrance test and proving medical fitness for work involving exposure to ionizing radiation.

Requirements for completing the course:

- Passing the entrance test.

- Completion of all laboratory tasks.

- A report on each task must be submitted by a predetermined deadline, which is either accepted or returned for completion or revision. Finally, the reports are graded.

- Final interview on topics related to the practical tasks.

The final grade is made up of partial grades from the entrance exam, the report, and the final interview.

Syllabus of lectures:

Syllabus of tutorials:

1. Regulations for the work with open IR sources.

2. Complex decay curve analysis.

3. Measurement of Indium activity increase as the dependence of neutron activation time, half-life determination of Indium.

4. 234Th-234mPa generator.

5. Determination of the mass of a radionuclide.

6. Half-life determination of long-lived radionuclides (40K, 238U).

7. Separation of nuclear izomers Br-80m and Br-80.

Study Objective:

Students will get practical knowledge about fundamental principles of nuclear transmutations and nuclear chemistry/radiochemistry - kinetics of nuclear decays and principles of transmutations.

Based on determination and measurement of activity of radionuclides, students will be competent to verify and quantify half-life of radionuclides, their quantity, and distribution.

Study materials:

Key literature:

1. Manuals for Practical Exercises in Nuclear Chemistry, set of teaching materials, 2017

2. Decree No. 422/2016 Coll., on radiation protection and security of a radioactive source, as amended

Recommended literature:

1. Act No. 263/2016 Coll., atomic act, as amended

2. W. D. Loveland, D. J. Morrissey, G. T. Seaborg: Modern nuclear chemistry, John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey, 2006

3. G. R. Choppin et al.: Radiochemistry and Nuclear Chemistry, Fourth Edition, Academic Press, 2013

Media and tools:

1. Radiochemistry laboratory

Note:

Further information:

https://jaderna-chemie.cz/vyuka/predmety/praktikum-z-jaderne-chemie/

Time-table for winter semester 2025/2026:

Time-table is not available yet

Time-table for summer semester 2025/2026:

Time-table is not available yet

The course is a part of the following study plans:

• Jaderná chemie (compulsory course in the program)