Californium electrodepositions at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Electrodepositions of californium isotopes were successfully performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory involving two different types of deposition solutions, ammonium acetate and isobutanol. A californium product that was decay-enriched in ²⁵¹Cf was recovered for use in super-heavy element research. The californium was purified and then electrodeposited using the isobutanol method onto thin titanium foils for use at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. An ammonium acetate method was used to produce a deposition containing 1.7 ± 0.1 Ci of ²⁵²Cf onto a stainless steel substrate. This is the largest single electrodeposition of ²⁵²Cf ever prepared.