Thick rhodium electrodeposition on copper backing as the target for production of palladium-103

The Rh target preparation for production of ¹⁰³Pd was investigated by using a thick electrodeposition of rhodium metal on a copper backing. The electrodeposition experiments were performed in acidic sulfate media using RhCl₃·3H₂O, Rh₂(SO₄)₃ (recovered from hydrochloric acid solution) and also in the commercially available Rhodex plating baths. For high current beam irradiation of a Rh target, the qualities of the deposit of the three baths were compared in terms of thermal shock, crack-free and morphology criteria. The quality of the plating obtained from a sulfate bath [Rh₂(SO₄)₃] was comparable with the one obtained from commercially available Rhodex bath. The optimum conditions of the electrodepositions were as follows: 4.8 g rhodium [as Rh₂(SO₄)₃], pH 2, DC current density of ca 8.5 mA·cm^–2, 1% sulfamic acid (w/v) and temperature 40–60 °C.The authors would like to thank their colleagues at the VUB-Cyclotron department for help and assistance in preparation of the electrodeposition equipment and taking the SEM photomicrographs and also K. Aardaneh (NRCAM) for his assistance.