Solid state catalytic tritiation of deuterated polybutadiene through isotopic exchange and tritium addition

Highlights: • A deuterated-tritiated polymer with a tritium ratio of 26.5 % was prepared through solid state catalytic tritiation. • The deuterated-tritiated polymer was characteraized by ²H-NMR and ³H-NMR spectra. • The solid state tritiation free of solvents can avoid the generation of radioactive liquids. Deuterated-tritiated polymers are a type of promising target materials for inertial confinement fusion (ICF). The preparation of a deuterated-tritiated polymer was performed from a deuterated polybutadiene under tritium through solid state catalytic tritiation with 5 wt% Pd/BaSO₄ as a catalyst. After reaction, the gas mixture in the vessel and the raw T₂/Ar mixture in the flask were analyzed with a gas chromatography, a quadrupole mass spectrometer and a high resolution gas analysis mass spectrometer. The ²H-NMR and ³H-NMR spectra were employed to characterize the deuterated-tritiated polymer. Both isotopic exchange and addition during the reaction were confirmed and the tritium ratio of the deuterated-tritiated polymer was determined to be 26.5 %.The solid state tritiation free of solvents can avoid the generation of high radioactive liquids.