EXAFS study of uranyl nitrate dimer at high and low temperature

Uranium uptake by hectorite and montmorillonite: a solution chemistry and polarized EXAFS study

The mechanism of U(VI) retention on montmorillonite and hectorite at high ionic strength (0.5 M NaCl) was investigated by solution chemistry and, at near-neutral pH, polarized EXAFS spectroscopy. Uranium(VI) sorption increases from pH 3 to 7 on the two clays, but with a steeper edge for hectorite. Uranium(VI) is no longer retained at pH > 9, presumably owing to the formation of soluble anionic complexes. Polarized EXAFS showed that U(VI) retains its uranyl conformation on montmorillonite (U_mont) and hectorite (U_hect), with uranyl O at 1.79(2) A for U_mont and 1.82(2) A for U_hect, and split equatorial O shells at 2.29(2) and 2.47(2) A (U_mont), or 2.35(2) and 2.53(2) A (U_hect). An additional atomic shell of approximately 0.5 Al/Si at 3.3 A is detected for U_mont, but neither the oxygen nor the cationic shell exhibit clear angular dependence. These results indicate the formation of mononuclear complexes at the edges of montmorillonite platelets, with the orientation of the uranyl axis equal to the magic angle, as constrained by the edges' structural properties. In contrast to U_mont, the U-O signal varies with the polarization angle in U_hect, and the cationic Mg/Si contribution at 3.2 A is weak. The structure of this surface complex is not completely elucidated; it may correspond either to sorption on silanol sites, or to coprecipitation. These results lay out the fundamental molecular-scale basis to understand U retention by neoformed clay layers of nuclear glasses.

Solvation of Uranyl(II) and Europium(III) Cations and Their Chloro Complexes in a Room-Temperature Ionic Liquid. A Theoretical Study of the Effect of Solvent “Humidity”

We report a molecular dynamics study of the solvation of the UO2(2+) and Eu3+ cations and their chloro complexes in the [BMI][PF6][H2O] "humid" room-temperature ionic liquid (IL) composed of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium+ and PF6- ions and H2O in a 1:1:1 ratio. When compared to the results obtained in dry [BMI][PF6], the present results reveal the importance of water. The "naked" cations form UO2(H2O)5(2+) and Eu(H2O)9(3+) complexes, embedded in a shell of 7 and 8 PF6- anions, respectively. All studied UO2Cln(2-n) and EuCln(3-n) chloro complexes remain stable during the dynamics and coordinate additional H2O molecules in their first shell. UO2Cl4(2-) and EuCl6(3-) are surrounded by an "unsaturated" water shell, followed by a shell of BMI+ cations. According to an energy component analysis, the UO2Cl4(2-) and EuCl6(3-) species, intrinsically unstable toward dissociation, are more stable than their less halogenated analogues in the IL solution, due to the solvation forces. The different chloro species also interact better with the humid than with the dry IL, which hints at the importance of solvent humidity to improve their solubility. Humidity markedly modifies the local ion environment, with major consequences as far as their spectroscopic properties are concerned. We finally compare the aqueous interface of [BMI][PF6] and [OMI][PF6] ionic liquids, demonstrating the importance of imidazolium substituents (N-butyl versus N-octyl) to the nature of the interface and miscibility with water.

A Structural and Electrochemical Investigation of 1-Alkyl-3-methylimidazolium Salts of the Nitratodioxouranate(VI) Anions [{UO2(NO3)2}2(μ4-C2O4)]2-, [UO2(NO3)3]-, and [UO2(NO3)4]2-

The properties of the 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium salt of the dinuclear mu(4)-(O,O,O',O'-ethane-1,2-dioato)bis[bis(nitrato-O,O)dioxouranate(VI)] anion have been investigated using electrochemistry, single-crystal X-ray crystallography, and extended X-ray absorbance fine structure spectroscopy: the anion structures from these last two techniques are in excellent agreement with each other. Electrochemical reduction of the complex leads to the a two-electron metal-centered reduction of U(VI) to U(IV), and the production of UO(2), or a complex containing UO(2). Under normal conditions, this leads to the coating of the electrode with a passivating film. The presence of volatile organic compounds in the ionic liquids 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium nitrate (where the 1-alkyl chain was methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, hexyl, dodecyl, hexadecyl, or octadecyl) during the oxidative dissolution of uranium(IV) oxide led to the formation of a yellow precipitate. To understand the effect of the cation upon the composition and structure of the precipitates, 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium salts of a number of nitratodioxouranate(VI) complexes were synthesized and then analyzed using X-ray crystallography. It was demonstrated that the length of the 1-alkyl chain played an important role, not only in the composition of the complex salt, but also in the synthesis of dinuclear anions containing the bridging mu(4)-(O,O,O',O'-ethane-1,2-dioato), or oxalato, ligand, by protecting it from further oxidation.