Electrodeposition of plutonium and americium for high resolution .alpha. spectrometry

NaHSO/sub 4/--Na/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ is used to prepare plates containing Pu or Am by electrodeposition from pure solutions for high resolution ..cap alpha.. spectrometry. NaHSO/sub 4/ is added to the sample before any fuming operations to prevent tracer quantities of the actinides from baking onto the beaker during fuming. NaSO/sub 4/ in the Na/sub 2/SO/sub 4/--NaHSO/sub 4/ electrolyte acts both as a buffer to maintain a pH of 2 and as an electrolyte to reduce the resistivity of the cell. Because of the Na/sub 2/SO/sub 4/, no pH adjustment of the electrolyte solution is required before deposition is started, and a uniform pH is maintained during the electrodeposition. The recovery is 100.9 percent +- 2.0 for Pu and 102.4 percent +- 3.4 for Am when 4 pCi of either actinide is electrodeposited. The ..cap alpha.. energy resolution is excellent. The electrodeposition is not affected by mg amounts of NO/sub 3//sup -/, C/sub 2/O/sub 4//sup 2 -/, and PO/sub 4//sup -/, but citrate and F/sup -/ interfere; many metal ions will electrodeposit with the actinide if present in the solution.