On Thursday 13th March at 4:00 PM CET in the series of HB11 webinars co-organized by PROBONO and HB11 Energy, Dr. I. C. Edmond Turcu representing UKRI/STFC Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in UK will deliver a talk entitled “Neutron and Ion Sources from Nuclear Fusion Reactions in Laser-Driven Ammonia Borane Fusion Fuels”.

Zoom link: https://u-bordeaux-fr.zoom.us/j/87487907149?pwd=Viv4rQRXhXBNIw8G7SgWoBAokBjbIw.1

 Neutron and Ion Sources from Nuclear Fusion Reactions
in Laser-Driven Ammonia Borane Fusion Fuels

Presented by Edmond Turcu
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

1,2I.C.E. Turcu, D. Margarone3,4,5 , L. Giuffrida3 , A. Picciotto6 , C. Spindloe1,7 , U.B. Demirci8 , C. A. Castilla-Martinez8 , A.P. L. Robinson1 , R.H.H. Scott1 , G.A.P. Cirrone5 , F. Consoli9 , K. Batani10 , D. Batani11,12

 1UKRI/STFC Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot, OX12 8HE, UK
2Extreme Light Infrastructure: Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP), Street Reactorului No. 30, Magurele-Bucharest, 077125, Romania
3ELI Beamlines Facility, The Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC, Dolni Brezany, Czech Republic
4Centre for Light-Matter Interactions, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, U.K.
5Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Via Santa Sofia 62, Catania, Italy
6MNF—The Micro Nano Characterization and Fabrication Facility, Bruno Kessler Foundation, Via Sommarive 18, 38122 Trento, Italy.
7Scitech Precision Ltd., Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK.
8 Institut Européen des Membranes, IEM – UMR 5635, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, ENSCM, Montpellier, France
9ENEA, Nuclear Department, C.R. Frascati, 00044Frascati, Italy
10Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, 01-497 Warsaw, Poland
11CELIA - Centre Lasers Intenses et Applications, Université de Bordeaux, Domaine du Haut Carré, 43 Rue Pierre Noailles, 33405 Talence, France.
12HB11 Energy Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia.

 

Abstract Boranes in general, and in particular Ammonia Borane (AB), H3BNH3, have been proposed [1] as nuclear-fusion fuel-material for laser-targets for direct, or ‘in target’ laser-driven Proton-Boron (P-B) [2] fusion reactions: 1 1H + 11 5B = 3 x 4 2He + 8.7 MeV/fusion reaction. This is because solid AB contains both fusion nuclei: Boron and Hydrogen, while storing even higher H concentration than liquid Hydrogen. First experiments with laser-driven AB fusion [3] have already generated a normalized Alpha-particle flux equalling record fluxes obtained with other types of target materials [2]. Ref. [1] has proposed to use laserdriven AB-targets to generate tabletop Ion Sources (Alpha and Proton) for applications such as isotope fabrication. AB as well as Diborane, B2H6, fusion fuels could also be considered for fuelling future ProtonBoron Fusion Energy Reactors [1]. Heavy- AB, see below, was already considered a potential fuel for Deuterium-Tritium Fusion Energy Reactors [4], and we also propose Heavy-Diborane as future DT or DD fusion fuel. Indeed, the number density of DT is over two times higher in solid Heavy-AB at normal temperature than in solid cryogenic DT fusion fuel. We now propose to extend our studies of AB nuclear-fusion fuel-materials for laser-targets to ‘Heavy AB’ in which the Hydrogen atoms are replaced by Deuterium (D) or even Tritium (T): D3BND3 for DD fusion (2 1D + 2 1D = 3 1T + 1 0p + 4 MeV/fusion or 2 1D + 2 1D = 3 2He + 1 0n + 3.3 MeV/fusion) or even D3BNT3 for DT fusion ( 2 1D + 3 1T = 4 2He + 1 0n +17.6 MeV/fusion). We would like to compare the ion fluxes emitted AB and Heavy-AB identical targets when irradiated by laser in identical conditions. We expect even higher nuclear-fusion-yield from laser-irradiated Heavy-Hydrogen-AB than from AB because the fusion-crossections are higher at same kinetic energies of fusing particles. Heavy-Hydrogen fusion generates neutrons which escape the fusion-target and can be measured exactly, unlike Alpha particles from ProtonBoron fusion. Therefore, one could better characterise experimentally, the laser-plasma conditions (leading to the Heavy-Hydrogen fusion) in Heavy-AB targets compared to AB targets. Since the targets and irradiation conditions are identical one could use the particle emission from Heavy-AB targets to better understand the P-B fusion conditions in AB targets by comparing the respective fusion particle fluxes, and fusion crossections, for example. Heavy-AB can be synthesized by using Deuterated [5] or Tritiated precursors to AB formation. Using both AB and Heavy AB fusion-fuels would extend the range of laser-driven Ion Sources to: Proton (3MeV and higher), Alpha (1-8MeV), 3He (0.8MeV), Tritium (1MeV and higher), Deuterium (several MeV), and even Neutron Sources with 2.45MeV or 14.06MeV neutron energies. This increase in the Source type of particles will also extend their applications. For isotope generation we proposed the target-nucleus for isotope production could be included in the AB molecule for efficient nuclear interaction [1]: let us call this the “in-molecule isotope-target nucleus’ concept. A good example is the isotope production for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) using the accelerated Proton or the fusion generated Alpha-particle interacting with the Nitrogen nucleus in the AB [1] or Heavy AB fusion fuel: 14N (p, ) 11C (half-life = 20.4min) or 14N ( ) 18F (half-life = 109.8min). We propose to extend this concept to more borohydride molecules like, for example Al (BH4)3 laser-target materials to generated 30P (half-life = 2.5min) PET from:27Al ( n) 30P. Add the large variety of metal borohydrides like: Na (BH4) , Ca(BH4)2 , In(BH4)3 , NaSc(BH4)4 [6], etc., and indeed the class of metal derivatives of BNH materials like Na(NH2BH3) or Ca (NH2BH3)2 . Proposed AB [1] and Heavy AB fusion fuel targets for such laser-driven Ion Sources could be either solid micro- or nano- crystals, single crystals, pressed in pellets or coated on tapes as well as high repetition liquid (molten) borane droplet targets. The high repetition laser and targets will increase the time-average Flux of the Ion source [1]. Examples of AB micro- or nano- crystals fabrication aro also shown in [7] and [8].

 

References:

1. I.C.E. Turcu et al. “Borane (BmHn) Hydrogen Rich, Proton Boron fusion fuel materials for high yield laser-driven Alpha sources”, JINST 19 C03065 (2024), https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/19/03/C03065

2. D. Margarone et al., “In-target Proton-Boron Nuclear Fusion using PW-Class laser”, Appl. Sci. 12, 1444, (2022)

3. M. Valt et al., “"Ammonia Borane-based Targets for New Developments in Laser-Driven Proton Boron Fusion", Applied Surface Science Journal (in print, 2024)

4. S. Yu. Gus’kov et al., “Effect of Inactive Impurities on the Burning of ICF Targets”, ISSN 1063-780X, Plasma Physics Reports, 37, 1020-34 (2011), Pleiades Publishing Ltd.

5. J-F. Petit and U. B. Demirci et al.,” Mechanistic Insights into Dehydrogenation of Partially Deuterated Ammonia Borane NH3BD3 Being Heating to 200 °C”, Inorg. Chem. (2019) 58, 489

6. K. Suárez-Alcántara and J. R. T. García, “Metal Borohydrides beyond Groups I and II: A Review”, Materials (2021) 14, 2561. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14102561

7. M-J. Valero-Pedraza et al., “Ammonia Borane Nanospheres for Hydrogen Storage “, ACS Appl Nano Mater (2019) 2, 1129

8. R. Mighri et al., “Nanostructured Carbon-Doped BN for CO2 Capture Applications”, Nanomaterials 2023, 13, 2389

Acknowledgements: This work has been carried out within the framework of the COST Action CA21128- PROBONO “PROton BOron Nuclear fusion: from energy production to medical applications”, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology - www.cost.eu).

 

NEWS