Curium Production

Curium is produced by bombarding plutonium and americium in nuclear reactors. Large quantities of ²⁴²Cm with minute impurities is prepared by exposing ²⁴¹Am to thermal (slow) neutrons. A mixture of isotopes with mass numbers 244-248 is the product of such irradiation; if the integral neutron flux is low the reaction yields ²⁴⁴Cm and ²⁴⁸Cm if the flow is very intensive. Milligram quantities of ²⁴⁸Cm can be extracted from ²⁵²Cf old samples. Curium isotopes are isolated via extraction, sorption and precipitation. Curium metal may be produced by through CmF₃ reduction by Barium vapours at 1275°C or via CmO₂ reduction by Mg-Zn alloy at 900°C in the presence of magnesium chloride - magnesium fluorine as a flux.