Effect of laser irradiation of nanoparticles in aqueous uranium salt solutions on nuclide activity

• Published in: Quantum electronics (Woodbury, N.Y.) Vol. 41; no. 7; pp. 614 - 618
• Main Authors: Simakin, Aleksandr V, Shafeev, Georgii A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 31.07.2011
• Subjects: ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS; ACTINIDE NUCLEI; ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS; BETA DECAY; BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; CHLORIDES; CHLORINE COMPOUNDS; CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; CORUNDUM; DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES; DECAY; DISPERSIONS; ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION; ELEMENTS; EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI; EVEN-ODD NUCLEI; GOLD; HALIDES; HALOGEN COMPOUNDS; HEAVY NUCLEI; HOMOGENEOUS MIXTURES; HOURS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES; INTERNAL CONVERSION RADIOISOTOPES; ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES; ISOTOPES; LASER RADIATION; LASERS; METALS; MINERALS; MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES; MIXTURES; NANOSTRUCTURES; NEODYMIUM LASERS; NUCLEAR DECAY; NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS; NUCLEI; ODD-ODD NUCLEI; OXIDE MINERALS; PARTICLES; PROTACTINIUM 234; PROTACTINIUM ISOTOPES; PULSES; RADIATIONS; RADIOISOTOPES; SAPPHIRE; SOLID STATE LASERS; SOLUTIONS; SPONTANEOUS FISSION RADIOISOTOPES; THORIUM 234; THORIUM ISOTOPES; TRANSITION ELEMENTS; URANIUM 235; URANIUM COMPOUNDS; URANIUM ISOTOPES; URANYL CHLORIDES; URANYL COMPOUNDS; WAVELENGTHS; YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
• ISSN: 1063-7818; 1468-4799
• DOI: 10.1070/QE2011v041n07ABEH014554

This paper presents an experimental study of the effect of laser irradiation of aqueous uranyl chloride solutions containing gold nanoparticles on the activity of the uranium series radionuclides {sup 234}Th, {sup 234m}Pa, and {sup 235}U. The solutions were exposed to femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser pulses and to the second or third harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser (150-ps pulses) at a peak intensity in the medium of {approx}10{sup 12} W cm{sup -2}. The activities of the radionuclides in the irradiated solutions were shown to differ markedly from their equilibrium values. The sign of the deviation depends on the laser wavelength. The measured activity deviations can be interpreted as evidence that laser exposure of nanoparticles accelerates the alpha and beta decays of the radionuclides. The observed effects are accounted for in terms of a mechanism that involves resonant enhancement of optical waves by metallic nanoparticles. (interaction of laser radiation with matter)