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Kinetic evaluation of the uranyl peroxide synthetic route on morphology

  • Erik C. Abbott , Logan D. Gibb , Cody A. Nizinski , Elijah W. Allen , Hiram E. E. O’Connor und Luther W. McDonald IV ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 16. Mai 2024
Radiochimica Acta
Aus der Zeitschrift Radiochimica Acta Band 112 Heft 9

Abstract

An important challenge in utilizing particle morphology in nuclear forensic or fuel fabrication applications is understanding why differences in morphologies are observed following varying processing conditions. This is often due to competition and interplay between thermodynamic and kinetic influences. To that end, some of the kinetic influences in the uranyl peroxide precipitation reaction were evaluated and compared to thermodynamic influences studied previously. Metastudtite (UO2O2·2H2O) was synthesized from solutions of uranyl nitrate or chloride, and the reaction time was varied from 100 s to 230 min enabling an evaluation of kinetic and thermodynamic influences. The metastudtite was then calcined to U3O8, and all materials were analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction (p-XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Analysis by p-XRD confirmed the sample purity of metastudtite and U3O8. SEM images were analyzed using the Morphological Analysis for Materials (MAMA) software to measure the size and shape of the nanoparticles for a statistical comparison between materials. Metastudtite produced at shorter reaction times exhibited a kinetically controlled shape by forming smaller and rounder particles than metastudtite produced at longer reaction times. Metastudtite produced at the longer reaction times exhibited differences between the uranyl nitrate and uranyl chloride routes with the nitrate exhibiting a more angular and faceted morphology than the chloride. Overall, the control of the supersaturation ratio (S) played a significant role in determining the morphology of the metastudtite. Morphological differences between the U3O8 confirmed the role of nanoparticle agglomeration in forming larger sintered particles. The results help demonstrate the importance of understanding particle formation mechanisms in the long-term development of morphology in nuclear forensics or in developing advanced fuels with specific characteristics.

Keywords: electron microscopy; thermodynamics; uranyl peroxide; quantitative morphology; nuclear forensics
Corresponding author: Luther W. McDonald IV, Nuclear Engineering Program, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Utah, 201 Presidents Circle, 110 Central Campus Drive, Suite 2000, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA, E-mail:

Funding source: Department of Homeland Security

Award Identifier / Grant number: 2015-DN-077ARI092

Award Identifier / Grant number: 2016-DN-077-ARI10

Funding source: DOE NNSA Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development

Acknowledgments

This work made use of the University of Utah Shared facilities of the Surface Analysis and Nanoscale Imaging Group sponsored by the College of Engineering, Health Sciences Center, Office of the Vice President for Research, and the Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) Initiative of the State of Utah. This work used the Material Characterization Lab at the University of Utah.

  1. Research ethics: Not applicable.

  2. Author contributions: The authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission. Erik C. Abbott: conceptualization, methodology, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, writing – original draft, review, and editing. Logan D. Gibb: data curation. Cody A. Nizinski: data curation, formal analysis, writing – review and editing. Elijah W. Allen: data curation. Hiram E. E. O’Connor: data curation. Luther W. McDonald IV: supervision, project administration, funding acquisition, writing – review and editing.

  3. Competing interests: The authors state no conflict of interest.

  4. Research funding: ynthesis and characterization of the U-oxides were supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, under grant award nos. 2015-DN-077ARI092 and 2016-DN-077-ARI10. Data analysis and interpretation were completed using support from the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development.

  5. Data availability: The raw data can be obtained on request from the corresponding author.

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Supplementary Material

This article contains supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/ract-2024-0277).

Received: 2024-01-17
Accepted: 2024-04-26
Published Online: 2024-05-16
Published in Print: 2024-09-25

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Artikel in diesem Heft

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Review
  3. Phytoremediation of radium contaminated soils: recent advances and prospects
  4. Original Papers
  5. Kinetic evaluation of the uranyl peroxide synthetic route on morphology
  6. Fabrication and characterization of graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide decorated diatomite composite materials and their adsorption performance for uranium ions
  7. The performance of iron-silicate-based biochar as a sorbent material towards 133Ba retention from radioactive liquid waste
  8. Challenges in the solution phase synthesis of PSMA-11 and PSMA-617: organic ligands for radiopharmaceutical preparations in prostate cancer medication
  9. Synthesis, MTT assay, 99m-Technetium radiolabeling, biodistribution evaluation of radiotracer and in vitro magnetic resonance imaging study of P,N-doped graphene quantum dots as a new multipurpose imaging nano-agent
  10. Assessment of radioactivity and radiological risk indices in the sediments of the Tam Giang-Cau Hai, Thi Nai, and Nai lagoons in the Center of Vietnam
  11. Study of gamma, neutron, and proton interaction parameters of some immunotherapy drugs using EpiXs, NGCal, and PSTAR software
  12. Gamma and neutron attenuation of SiO2–B2O3–BaO–Li2O glasses doped with CeO2
https://doi.org/10.1515/ract-2024-0277
Schlagwörter für diesen Artikel
electron microscopy; thermodynamics; uranyl peroxide; quantitative morphology; nuclear forensics

Artikel in diesem Heft

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Review
  3. Phytoremediation of radium contaminated soils: recent advances and prospects
  4. Original Papers
  5. Kinetic evaluation of the uranyl peroxide synthetic route on morphology
  6. Fabrication and characterization of graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide decorated diatomite composite materials and their adsorption performance for uranium ions
  7. The performance of iron-silicate-based biochar as a sorbent material towards 133Ba retention from radioactive liquid waste
  8. Challenges in the solution phase synthesis of PSMA-11 and PSMA-617: organic ligands for radiopharmaceutical preparations in prostate cancer medication
  9. Synthesis, MTT assay, 99m-Technetium radiolabeling, biodistribution evaluation of radiotracer and in vitro magnetic resonance imaging study of P,N-doped graphene quantum dots as a new multipurpose imaging nano-agent
  10. Assessment of radioactivity and radiological risk indices in the sediments of the Tam Giang-Cau Hai, Thi Nai, and Nai lagoons in the Center of Vietnam
  11. Study of gamma, neutron, and proton interaction parameters of some immunotherapy drugs using EpiXs, NGCal, and PSTAR software
  12. Gamma and neutron attenuation of SiO2–B2O3–BaO–Li2O glasses doped with CeO2
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