Role of Cation Interactions in the Reduction Process in Plutonium–Americium Mixed Oxides

Electron correlation and relativistic effects on the electronic properties of a plutonium and americium mixed oxide (PuAmO4): from single-particle approximation to dynamical mean-field theory

First-principles calculations were performed on a plutonium and americium mixed oxide (PuAmO4), aiming at revealing the effects of electron correlation, Pu/Am 5f-conduction electrons' hybridization, and relativity on its electronic properties. The many-body calculation suggests that the spin-orbit-coupling (SOC)-splitting of j = 5/2 and j = 7/2 manifolds are both in the weakly and moderately correlated states, respectively, implying that the jj coupling scheme is more appropriate for Pu/Am 5f electrons. The density of states, 5f occupation numbers, and Green's functions all suggest that both Pu and Am 5f electrons exhibit the coexistence of the localized and delocalized states. The admixture of 5fn atomic configurations, Pu/Am 5f-conduction electrons' hybridization, and dual characteristics of 5f electrons yield average occupation numbers of 5f electrons n5f = 4.78 and 5.86 for Pu and Am ions, respectively. Within the DFT+DMFT calculation, the weighted-summation-derived occupation numbers in terms of 5f4/5f5/5f6 and 5f5/5f6 configurations for Pu and Am 5f electrons, respectively, are in reasonable agreement with those of other DFT-based calculations.

Synthesis and multi-scale properties of PuO2 nanoparticles: recent advances and open questions

Due to the increased attention given to actinide nanomaterials, the question of their structure-property relationship is on the spotlight of recent publications. Plutonium oxide (PuO₂) particularly plays a central role in nuclear energetics and a comprehensive knowledge about its properties when nanosizing is of paramount interest to understand its behaviour in environmental migration schemes but also for the development of advanced nuclear energy systems underway. The element plutonium further stimulates the curiosity of scientists due to the unique physical and chemical properties it exhibits around the periodic table. PuO₂ crystallizes in the fluorite structure of the face-centered cubic system for which the properties can be significantly affected when shrinking. Identifying the formation mechanism of PuO₂ nanoparticles, their related atomic, electronic and crystalline structures, and their reactivity in addition to their nanoscale properties, appears to be a fascinating and challenging ongoing topic, whose recent advances are discussed in this review.

Accommodation of helium in PuO2±x and the role of americium

The high alpha-activity of plutonium dioxide (PuO2) results in significant ingrowth of radiogenic helium (He) in the aged material. To safely store/dispose PuO2 or use in applications such as space...

Evolving Defect Chemistry of (Pu,Am)O2±x

The β decay of ²⁴¹Pu to ²⁴¹Am results in a significant ingrowth of Am during the interim storage of PuO₂. Consequently, the safe storage of the large stockpiles of separated Pu requires an understanding of how this ingrowth affects the chemistry of PuO₂. This work combines density functional theory (DFT) defect energies and empirical potential calculations of vibrational entropies to create a point defect model to predict how the defect chemistry of PuO₂ evolves due to the incorporation of Am. The model predicts that Am occupies Pu sites in (Pu,Am)O_2±x in either the +III or +IV oxidation state. High temperatures, low oxygen-to-metal (O/M) ratios, or low Am concentrations favor Am in the +III oxidation state. Am (+III) exists in (Pu,Am)O_2±x as the negatively charged (Am_Pu ^1-) defect, requiring charge compensation from holes in the valence band, thereby increasing the conductivity of the material compared to Am-free PuO₂. Oxygen vacancies take over as the charge compensation mechanism at low O/M ratios. In (Pu,Am)O_2±x , hypo- and (negligible) hyperstoichiometry is found to be provided by the doubly charged oxygen vacancy (V_O ²⁺) and singly charged oxygen interstitial (O_i ^1-), respectively.

New sample stage for characterizing radioactive materials by X-ray powder diffraction: application on five actinide dioxides ThO2, UO2, NpO2, PuO2 and AmO2

A new sample stage for characterizing radioactive materials by X-ray powder diffraction was developed at the ATALANTE facility (CEA Marcoule, France) using a conventional (non-nuclearized) Bruker D8 goniometer mounted in Bragg–Brentano geometry. The setup consists of a removable, fully hermetic sample stage, with a 200 µm-thick beryllium window, that can be plugged onto a glove-box, allowing the sample to be introduced in an hermetic medium that also encapsulates the glove-box atmosphere throughout the analysis process. The whole setup is thus hermetically unplugged from the glove-box and positioned on the centre of the goniometer. No preliminary decontamination and/or decontainment of the sample is necessary. The device was developed to avoid an expensive and time-consuming nuclearization of the diffractometer while also keeping it easily accessible for maintenance. Ultimately, keeping the diffractometer out of a glove-box also limits the volume of the final nuclear wastes, and thus the removable sample stage is the only `active' part. X-ray diffraction results of two NIST standards LaB6 and α-Al2O3 as well as five actinide dioxides ThO2, UO2, NpO2, PuO2 and AmO2 are presented to show the efficiency of the setup.

Lattice thermal expansion of Pu1−yAmyO2−xplutonium–americium mixed oxides

Plutonium–americium mixed oxides, Pu1−yAmyO2−x, with various Am contents (y= 0.018, 0.077, 0.21, 0.49, 0.80 and 1.00) were studiedin situby high-temperature X-ray diffraction. In this study, the lattice thermal expansion of the six compounds subjected to heat treatments up to 1773 K under reconstituted air (N2+ 21% O2+ ∼5 vpm H2O) was investigated. The materials remained monophasic throughout the experiments and, depending upon the americium content, the lattice parameter of the face-centred cubic phase deviated from linear lattice expansion at elevated temperatures as a result of the progressive reduction of Am4+to Am3+.

Exploring actinide materials through synchrotron radiation techniques

Synchrotron radiation (SR) based techniques have been utilized with increasing frequency in the past decade to explore the brilliant and challenging sciences of actinide-based materials. This trend is partially driven by the basic needs for multi-scale actinide speciation and bonding information and also the realistic needs for nuclear energy research. In this review, recent research progresses on actinide related materials by means of various SR techniques were selectively highlighted and summarized, with the emphasis on X-ray absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scattering spectroscopy, which are powerful tools to characterize actinide materials. In addition, advanced SR techniques for exploring future advanced nuclear fuel cycles dealing with actinides are illustrated as well.