A non-destructive analytical technique for low level detection of praseodymium using epithermal neutron activation analysis and compton suppression gamma-ray spectroscopy

When NAA is used to analyze geological samples a common issue arises in which certain radioisotopes produce gamma-ray peaks and Compton plateaus that ultimately overshadow the peaks of interest. This is the case when analyzing geological samples for trace concentrations of the rare earth element praseodymium. We report for the first time the determination of the rare earth element praseodymium using the Pr-141(n,gamma)Pr-142 reaction with its only single 1575.6 keV gamma ray and 19.12 h half-life using a 5-10 min epithermal neutron irradiation and Compton suppressed gamma-ray spectroscopy. Preliminary results using this method have shown a minimum detectable concentration of 5 mu g/g.