Chemical state of complex uranium oxides

Quantifying small changes in uranium oxidation states using XPS of a shallow core level

Quantification of U(iv), U(v), and U(vi) in UO_2+x using the 5d XPS.

Direct Determination of Oxidation States of Uranium in Mixed-Valent Uranium Oxides Using Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence X-ray Absorption Near-Edge Spectroscopy

Total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF)-based X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy has been used to determine the oxidation state of uranium in mixed-valent U₃O₈ and U₃O₇ uranium oxides. The TXRF spectra of the compounds were measured using variable X-ray energies in the vicinity of the U L₃ edge in the TXRF excitation mode at the microfocus beamline of the Indus-2 synchrotron facility. The TXRF-based X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (TXRF-XANES) spectra were deduced from the emission spectra measured using the energies below and above the U L₃ edge in the XANES region. The data processing using TXRF-XANES spectra of U(IV), U(V), and U(VI) standard compounds revealed that U present in U₃O₈ is a mixture of U(V) and U(VI), whereas U in U₃O₇ is mixture of U(IV) and U(VI). The results obtained in this study are similar to that reported in literature using the U M edge. The present study has demonstrated the possibility of application of TXRF for the oxidation state determination and elemental speciation of radioactive substances in a nondestructive manner with very small amount of sample requirement.

Evidence of Trivalent Am Substitution into U3O8

U₃O₈ is considered to be the most stable phase for uranium oxide. Its structural properties must be accurately understood to foresee and manage aspects such as its leaching behavior when spent nuclear fuel is stored in an oxidative environment. Moreover, as fuel irradiation causes the formation of fission products and activation products such as plutonium and minor actinides, it is probable that U₃O₈ will be mixed with other chemical elements under real conditions of oxidation. The storage issue can be extended to americium transmutation, where the irradiated compounds are mixed oxides composed of uranium and americium. This study thus focused on determining the structural properties of a solid solution containing uranium and trivalent americium (U/Am ratio = 90/10) and synthesized so as to obtain conventional U₃O₈ oxide. This paper presents the possibility of combining trivalent americium with uranium in a U₃O₈ mixed oxide for the first time, despite the high valence and atomic ratio differences, and proposes novel structural arrangements. X-ray diffraction measurements reveal americium substitution in U₃O₈ uranium cationic sites, leading to phase transformation into a U₃O₈ high-temperature structure and general lattice swelling. X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy and extended X-ray absorption fine structure experiments highlight an excess of U^+VI organized in uranyl units as the main consequence of accommodation.

Structural Changes in the Local Environment of Uranium Atoms in the Three Phases of U4O9

The crystal structure of U4O9 remains an enigma because of its differences with U(4+) and U(5+) coordination polyhedral mixtures, as shown in the XANES experimental results. To better understand this crystal structure, its diffraction pattern was measured at seven different temperatures using neutron diffraction before being independently refined by Rietveld's method and pair distribution function analysis. The O cuboctahedron-a structural element consisting of 13 oxygen atoms-is a specific feature of the U4O9 crystal structure. The volume of the cuboctahedron decreases when the temperature increases, whereas the overall volume of the crystal cell increases. This feature can be correlated with the two U4O9 phase transitions that induce sharp changes in the cuboctahedron geometry, suggesting that this structural element has internal dynamics. In particular, these structural modifications in the γ phase suggest that the high-temperature phase can be described as a mixture of U(4+) and U(5+) coordination polyhedra, the latter having U-O distances shorter than 2.2 Å, that are absent in the former. These changes in uranium polyhedra as a function of temperature are tentatively interpreted using steric arguments. They also raise the question of charge localization on the different U ion sites in the low-temperature phases of U4O9.

High-resolution X-ray absorption spectroscopy as a probe of crystal-field and covalency effects in actinide compounds

Applying the high-energy resolution fluorescence-detection (HERFD) mode of X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), we were able to probe, for the first time to our knowledge, the crystalline electric field (CEF) splittings of the [Formula: see text] shell directly in the HERFD-XAS spectra of actinides. Using ThO2 as an example, data measured at the Th 3d edge were interpreted within the framework of the Anderson impurity model. Because the charge-transfer satellites were also resolved in the HERFD-XAS spectra, the analysis of these satellites revealed that ThO2 is not an ionic compound as previously believed. The Th [Formula: see text] occupancy in the ground state was estimated to be twice that of the Th [Formula: see text] states. We demonstrate that HERFD-XAS allows for characterization of the CEF interaction and degree of covalency in the ground state of actinide compounds as it is extensively done for 3d transition metal systems.

A Johann-type X-ray emission spectrometer at the Rossendorf beamline

This paper gives a detailed description, including equations, of the Johann-type X-ray emission spectrometer which has been recently installed and tested at the Rossendorf beamline (ROBL) of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. The spectrometer consists of a single spherically bent crystal analyzer and an avalanche photodiode detector positioned on the vertical Rowland cycle of 1 m diameter. The hard X-ray emission spectrometer (∼3.5-25 keV) operates at atmospheric pressure and covers the Bragg angles of 65°-89°. The instrument has been tested at high and intermediate incident energies, i.e. at the Zr K-edge and at the Au L3-edge, in the second experimental hutch of ROBL. The spectrometer is dedicated for studying actinides in materials and environmental samples by high-energy-resolution X-ray absorption and X-ray emission spectroscopies.

Local Symmetry Effects in Actinide 4f X-ray Absorption in Oxides

A systematic X-ray absorption study at actinide N6,7 (4f → 6d transitions) edges was performed for light-actinide oxides including data obtained for the first time for NpO2, PuO2, and UO3. The measurements were supported by ab initio calculations based on local-density-approximation with added 5f-5f Coulomb interaction (LDA+U). Improved energy resolution compared to common experiments at actinide L(2,3) (2p → 6d transitions) edges allowed us to resolve the major structures of the unoccupied 6d density of states (DOS) and estimate the crystal-field splittings in the 6d shell directly from the spectra of light-actinide dioxides. The measurements demonstrated an enhanced sensitivity of the N(6,7) spectral shape to changes in the compound crystal structure. For nonstoichiometric NpO(2-x), the filling of the entire band gap with Np 6d states was observed thus supporting a phase coexistence of Np metal and stoichiometric NpO2 which is in agreement with the tentative Np-O phase diagram.

Effects of stoichiometry on the defect clustering in uranium dioxide

This study addresses the on-going topic of point defects and point defect clusters in uranium dioxide. Molecular statics simulation using an extended pair potential model that accounts for disproportionation equilibrium as charge compensation has been applied to assess the effect of disproportionation on structural properties and clustering in non-stoichiometric uranium dioxide. The defective structures are scanned in minute detail using a powerful and versatile analysing tool, called ASTRAM, developed in-house for the purpose. Unlike pair potential models ignoring disproportionation effects, our model reproduces volume changes observed experimentally in non-stoichiometric UO2-x and UO2+x. The oxygen defect energetics computed is in good agreement with data in the literature. The model is used to assess the clustering that occurs in bulk samples of non-stoichiometric uranium dioxide. This study confirms the generation of split-interstitial clusters as the dominant defect type in non-stoichiometric uranium dioxide. A new key mechanism for defect clustering in hyper-stoichiometric uranium dioxide is proposed that is based on the progressive aggregation of primitive blocks identified as 1-vacancy split-interstitial clusters.

Hydride ion formation in stoichiometric UO2

We investigated hydrogen solubility in UO₂ using DFT and predicted that hydrogen species energetically prefers to exist as a hydride ion rather than a proton in a hydroxyl group and on diffusion hydrogen's charge state will change.

Density functional theory investigation of the layered uranium oxides U3O8 and U2O5

New predictions of structural, electronic and mechanical properties of layered uranium oxides using DFT + U calculations.