Electroplating fission-recoil barriers onto LEU-metal foils for {sup 99}Mo-production targets

Electroplating experiments on uranium foil have been conducted in order to develop low-enriched uranium composite targets suitable for the production of {sup 99}Mo. Preparation of the foil surface prior to plating was found to play a key role in the quality of the resultant coating. A surface preparation procedure was developed that produces both zinc and nickel coatings with the desired level of coating adherence and coverage. Modifications of the existing plating processes now need investigation to improve to uniformity of the plating thickness, especially at the foil perimeter.