Plutonium and americium monazite materials: Solid state synthesis and X-ray diffraction study

Brégiroux, Damien; Belin, Renaud C.; Valenza, P.J.; Audubert, Fabienne; Bernache‐Assollant, Didier

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2006.12.042

Cited by 70 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…In the studies on the Pu incorporation in monazite the formation of a secondary phase with Pu 4 þ is reported [20] when synthesized in air. This can be avoided in calcium doped PuPO 4 which can accommodate Pu 4 þ due to the presence of divalent calcium for charge compensation and may allow the incorporation of Pu 4 þ into the matrix even when processed in air.…”

Section: Compoundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigations on the charge compensation on Ca and U substitution in CePO4 by using XPS, XRD and Raman spectroscopy

Asuvathraman

Gnanasekar

Clinsha

et al. 2015

Ceramics International

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Section: Compoundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigations on the charge compensation on Ca and U substitution in CePO4 by using XPS, XRD and Raman spectroscopy

Asuvathraman

Gnanasekar

Clinsha

et al. 2015

Ceramics International

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“…Many researchers (e.g., Bregiroux et al [12]; Cherniak et al [9]) suggest cooling rates on the order of 3 -4 °C per hour, rather than the 100 °C per hour that was used in this study. Unfortunately the latter rate was the slowest possible using the available furnace.…”

Section: Implications and Future Workmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Bregiroux et al [12] showed that 241 AmPO 4 could indeed be made by this route. However, 241 Am, which has a half-life of 432.2 years, caused the crystal to become amorphous within 300 days.…”

Section: Implications and Future Workmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…A solid state method based on Bregiroux et al [12] was chosen because PuO 2 was available as a starting material and this method demonstrated that single phase monoclinic PuPO 4 could be fabricated relatively easily via sintering in an argon atmosphere. While this method has been employed for structural investigations [13], it has not been tested for its ability to make crystals that are homogeneous on a micrometre spatial scale.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Synthesis and characterisation of PuPO₄ - a potential analytical standard for EPMA actinide quantification

Wright

Popa

Pöml

2018

IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng.

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Abstract. Transmutation nuclear fuels contain weight percentage quantities of actinide elements, including Pu, Am and Np. Because of the complex spectra presented by actinide elements using electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), it is necessary to have relatively pure actinide element standards to facilitate overlap correction and accurate quantitation. Synthesis of actinide oxide standards is complicated by their multiple oxidation states, which can result in inhomogeneous standards or standards that are not stable at atmospheric conditions. Synthesis of PuPO 4 results in a specimen that exhibits stable oxidation-reduction chemistry and is sufficiently homogenous to serve as an EPMA standard. This approach shows promise as a method for producing viable actinide standards for microanalysis. IntroductionNuclear fuels are being developed for next-generation nuclear reactors (GEN-IV) that have the ability to burn Pu, Am, and Np from spent nuclear fuels. Upon irradiation, these so-called transmutation fuels convert long-lived minor actinide elements (MA) to shorter-lived fission products, thereby decreasing the radiotoxicity and heat load of spent nuclear fuel.The thermodynamic behaviour of MA is unlike that of uranium in conventional nuclear fuels. Moreover there is much greater variation in the chemical and isotopic composition of transmutation fuels, such that they cannot be considered to be a simple extension of extant fuels [1].Because of these features, considerable research and development is required for both fabrication and analysis of transmutation fuels. Integral to the fabrication and analysis of irradiated fuel is electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). This technique has been used since at least 1961 [2] for the analysis of nuclear fuels because wavelength dispersive spectrometers permit better separation of complex peaks, such as those exhibited by the actinide metals group, than is possible with energy dispersive detectors.Reference materials are necessary to calibrate the instrument in order to obtain an accurate MA measurement. While some progress has been made with regard to creating models for standardless analysis [3], such efforts are still in their infancy. Therefore, nuclear fuels researchers still rely on the use of physical standards for the analysis of MA. Unfortunately, fabrication and use of such standards is fraught with difficulty. All fabrication and polishing must be done in special nuclear-grade facilities. Such facilities typically include glove boxes with prescribed atmospheres, and remote handling tools. Metal specimens are relatively easy to handle, but when exposed to oxygen, will oxidise very rapidly.

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“…Because of the low solubility and slow dissolution rates, these phosphates exhibit higher resistance against corrosion by the geological fluids than the borosilicate glass [1,2]. Monazite (Ln 3 þ PO 4 , monoclinic system, space group P2 1 /n, Z=4) is a natural light rare-earth orthophosphate mineral, which shows high actinides loadings, mechanical stability, chemical durability and radioresistance [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. Moreover, monazite can incorporate trivalent and/or tetravalent actinides due to its high-structural flexibility [13][14][15][16][22][23][24][25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of microstructure and chemical durability of Ce0.9Gd0.1PO4 ceramics prepared by hot-press and pressureless sintering

Zhao

Teng

Yang

et al. 2015

Ceramics International

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Plutonium and americium monazite materials: Solid state synthesis and X-ray diffraction study

Cited by 70 publications

References 14 publications

Investigations on the charge compensation on Ca and U substitution in CePO4 by using XPS, XRD and Raman spectroscopy

Investigations on the charge compensation on Ca and U substitution in CePO4 by using XPS, XRD and Raman spectroscopy

Synthesis and characterisation of PuPO₄ - a potential analytical standard for EPMA actinide quantification

Comparison of microstructure and chemical durability of Ce0.9Gd0.1PO4 ceramics prepared by hot-press and pressureless sintering

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Plutonium and americium monazite materials: Solid state synthesis and X-ray diffraction study

Cited by 70 publications

References 14 publications

Investigations on the charge compensation on Ca and U substitution in CePO4 by using XPS, XRD and Raman spectroscopy

Investigations on the charge compensation on Ca and U substitution in CePO4 by using XPS, XRD and Raman spectroscopy

Synthesis and characterisation of PuPO4 - a potential analytical standard for EPMA actinide quantification

Comparison of microstructure and chemical durability of Ce0.9Gd0.1PO4 ceramics prepared by hot-press and pressureless sintering

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Synthesis and characterisation of PuPO₄ - a potential analytical standard for EPMA actinide quantification