Study on Preparation Process of Ni-63 Radioactive Sources by Electrodeposition

Nickel-63 radioactive sources used in micro nuclear batteries require high surface emissivity, thin coating and small substrate. The method for the preparation of nickel-63 radioactive sources by direct and constant current electrodeposition was established by using nickel-63 solution with small volume, high specific activity and low Ni2+ concentration as electrodeposition liquid.Using this method, under the conditions of copper substrate, Ni2+ concentration with 1 g/L, electrodeposition pH with 3.5-4.5 and sulphamic acid concentration with 0.1 g/L, the electrodeposition efficiency can reach to 95.8% after 1 h . The coating is compact and bright with the thickness from 0.3 μm to 1.6 μm. The surface emissivity of the prepared nickel-63 radio-source film is up to 2.40×107 s-1·(2πSr)-1 while the activity is up to 1.89×109 Bq, which can meet the application requirements of micro nuclear batteries. At the same time, by recovering the residual electrodeposition solution and adjusting its composition, the reuse of e