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Nanomaterials
Volume 16
Issue 2
10.3390/nano16020127
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Synthesis and Characterization of Nanostructured Thorium Carbide for Radioactive Ion Beam Production

by
Edgar Reis
1,2,*,
Pedro Amador Celdran
3,
Olaf Walter
3,
Rachel Eloirdi
3,
Laura Lambert
1,
Thierry Stora
1,
Simon Stegemann
1,
Doru C. Lupascu
2 and
Sebastian Rothe
1
1
European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Esplanade des Particules 1, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
2
Institute for Materials Science, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45141 Essen, Germany
3
Institute for Transuranium Elements, Joint Research Center, 76125 Karlsruhe, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Nanomaterials 2026, 16(2), 127; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano16020127 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 9 December 2025 / Revised: 31 December 2025 / Accepted: 13 January 2026 / Published: 18 January 2026
(This article belongs to the Section Synthesis, Interfaces and Nanostructures)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Thorium carbide (ThC2±x) nano-structured thin disc-like pellets were produced from thoria nanoparticles (ThO2-NP) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). These composites are to be studied as a target material candidate for radioactive ion beam (RIB) production via nuclear reactions upon impact with high-energy proton beams on a stack of solid pellets. The ThO2-NP precursor was produced via precipitation of thorium oxalate from a thorium nitrate solution with oxalic acid and subsequent hydrothermal oxidation of the oxalate, creating the thoria nanoparticles. The ThO2-NP were then mixed with MWCNT in isopropyl alcohol and sonicated by two different methods to create a nanoparticle dispersion. This dispersion was then heated under medium vacuum to evaporate the solvent; the resulting powder was pressed into pellets and taken to an inert-atmosphere oven, where it was heated to 1650 ∘C and carbothermally reduced to ThC2±x. The resulting pellets were characterized via XRD, SEM-EDS, and Raman spectroscopy. The resulting thorium pellets exhibited, at most, trace levels of the oxide precursor. Furthermore, the nanotube structures were still present in the final product and are expected to contribute positively towards faster radioisotope release times by lowering isotope diffusion times, which is required for the efficient extraction of the shortest-lived (<1 s half-life) radioisotopes.
Keywords: thorium carbide; nanomaterials; radioactive ion beams; ISOL thorium carbide; nanomaterials; radioactive ion beams; ISOL

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Reis, E.; Celdran, P.A.; Walter, O.; Eloirdi, R.; Lambert, L.; Stora, T.; Stegemann, S.; Lupascu, D.C.; Rothe, S. Synthesis and Characterization of Nanostructured Thorium Carbide for Radioactive Ion Beam Production. Nanomaterials 2026, 16, 127. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano16020127

AMA Style

Reis E, Celdran PA, Walter O, Eloirdi R, Lambert L, Stora T, Stegemann S, Lupascu DC, Rothe S. Synthesis and Characterization of Nanostructured Thorium Carbide for Radioactive Ion Beam Production. Nanomaterials. 2026; 16(2):127. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano16020127

Chicago/Turabian Style

Reis, Edgar, Pedro Amador Celdran, Olaf Walter, Rachel Eloirdi, Laura Lambert, Thierry Stora, Simon Stegemann, Doru C. Lupascu, and Sebastian Rothe. 2026. "Synthesis and Characterization of Nanostructured Thorium Carbide for Radioactive Ion Beam Production" Nanomaterials 16, no. 2: 127. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano16020127

APA Style

Reis, E., Celdran, P. A., Walter, O., Eloirdi, R., Lambert, L., Stora, T., Stegemann, S., Lupascu, D. C., & Rothe, S. (2026). Synthesis and Characterization of Nanostructured Thorium Carbide for Radioactive Ion Beam Production. Nanomaterials, 16(2), 127. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano16020127

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