A porous hexagonal boron nitride powder compact for the production and release of radioactive 11C

• Published in: Journal of the European Ceramic Society 2021-07, Vol.41 (7), p.4086-4097
• Main Authors: Stegemann, S., Ballof, J., Cocolios, T.E., Correia, J.-G., Dockx, K., Poleshchuk, O., Ramos, J.P., Schell, J., Stora, T., Vleugels, J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 11C release; Boron nitride target; Radioactive ion beam production; Release efficiency; Release fractions
• ISSN: 0955-2219; 1873-619X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2020.12.029

A porous pre-sintered hexagonal boron nitride powder compact was recently developed as target for the production of intense 11C beams for Positron Emission Tomography-aided hadron therapy. In a previous study, this target has been characterized regarding its operational limitations. In this work, microstructural characterization with respect to the target's grain size, porosity and pore structure, and a dedicated fractional release study from activated targets, i.e. how much 11C is extracted by a short heat treatment, is presented. Corresponding results include an average grain size of approximately 1.7(1) μm, total and open porosity of 40(5) and 21(7)%, respectively, which is mostly composed of pores with sizes ranging from 120 to 470 nm. From the measured release fraction the order of magnitude of carbon's diffusion coefficient D(1500 °C) = 10−15 − 10−14 cm2 s−1 in porous boron nitride, and a 11C extraction efficiency of about 10% at 1500 °C target temperature were estimated.