Plutonium Dioxide: Preparation of Single Crystals

Abstract

Well-formed single crystals of plutonium dioxide were precipitated from a silicate glass and examined as an inclusion in a glass fiber drawn from the parent material. Excellent atomic scattering factors for Pu(+4) may be obtained with these specimens.

Thermal Energy Transport in Oxide Nuclear Fuel

“…If the melt growth is eschewed because of these assorted shortcomings, the next most common growth techniques dissolve the feedstock under conditions well below the melting point and then crystallize out the feedstock from the solution. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or chemical transport (UO2 [228,229,230,231], UxTh1-xO2 [232], and U1-xPuxO2 [233]), flux (CeO2 [234,235,236,237,238,239,240,241], ThO2 [220,223,234,235,236,237,238,242,243,244,245,246,247], UO2 [217,248,249], UxTh1-xO2 [249], and PuO2 [242,250,251,252,253]), and hydrothermal or solvothermal synthesis (CeO2 [254], ThO2 [29,67,179,255,256,257,258,259,260,…”

“…If melt growth is eschewed because of these assorted shortcomings, the next most common growth techniques dissolve the feedstock under conditions well below the melting point and then crystallize out the feedstock from the solution. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or chemical transport (UO 2 , − U x Th 1– x O 2 , and U 1– x Pu x O 2 ), flux (CeO 2 , − ThO 2 , ,,− ,− UO 2 , ,, U x Th 1– x O 2 , and PuO 2 ,− ), and hydrothermal or solvothermal synthesis (CeO 2 , ThO 2 , ,,,− U 1– x Th x O 2 , − UO 2 , − ,− and PuO 2 ) fall into this category and have been employed for the entire AO 2 family. High-quality, well-faceted single crystals of ThO 2 and UO 2 produced using the hydrothermal method are shown in Figure .…”

Two convenient low-temperature routes to single crystals of plutonium dioxide

“…Phipps and Sullenger reported the preparation of single crystalline plutonium dioxide by dissolving a powdered sample in a 70% SiO 2 / 30% Na 2 O sodium silicate glass followed by heating at 1300°C [10]. Benedict and co-workers were able to synthesize single crystals of plutonium dioxide in a high temperature CsCl melt (550°C) that was sparged with an oxygen-chlorine gas mixture [11].…”