The production of 103Pd via the natAg(p,x)103Pd nuclear process

A procedure for the production of palladium-103 from silver metal has been developed. Cross sections for the production of 100,101,103Pd by proton bombardment of natural silver were measured up to 100 MeV by means of the stacked-foil method. Thin silver foils were irradiated at the NAC cyclotron with proton beams having primary energies of 40, 65 and 101 MeV. A cation exchange method was developed to separate carrier-added (c.a.) 103Pd from irradiated silver targets. The calculated yield (3d after EOB) of 23.7 MBq/μAh (0.64 mCi/μAh) compares well with the actual yield of 22.2 MBq/μAh (0.60 mCi)/μAh±10% (94% of the calculated value) of carrier-added 103Pd found with experimental runs conducted with 66 MeV beam. The level of 100Pd, the principal impurity in the final product, is low in view of its application in brachytherapy. (orig.)