Assessment and estimation of 65Zn production yield via neutron induced reaction on natZnO and natZnONPs.

Abstract Zinc-65 has been of great interest in medical, biomedical, agricultural, and industrial applications due to its suitable half-life and decay properties. The 65Zn was produced via neutron irradiation on natural zinc oxide and natural zinc oxide nanoparticles targets in Tehran Research Reactor (TRR) at a thermal neutron flux of 4.5 × 1013 n cm−2 s−1 for 30 min. The excitation function of 64Zn(n,γ)65Zn reaction was calculated via the TALYS-1.8 code. The MCNPX code was used to calculate the thermal neutron distribution. The 65Zn theoretical production yield was estimated using calculated cross sections and the calculated thermal neutron distribution. The obtained experimental data and simulated value of production yield for 65Zn were in reasonable agreement. Highlights • Experimental and theoretical production yield of 65Zn from the natZnO target was investigated. • Experimental and theoretical production yield of 65ZnNPs from the natZnNPs target was investigated. • The nuclear codes of MCNPX and TALYS were used to calculate the neutron distribution function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]