Spectroscopic and first-principles investigations of iodine species incorporation into ettringite; Implications for iodine migration in cement waste forms

Guo, B.*; Xiong, Y.*; Chen, W.*; Saslow, S. A.*; Kozai, Naofumi   ; Onuki, Toshihiko*; Dabo, I.*; Sasaki, Keiko*

To elucidate retention mechanism of cement waste form for radioactive iodine, this paper investigated interaction mechanism between iodine and ettringite, which is a component mineral of cement and has anion exchange ability. We revealed that ettringite has a high capacity for accommodating IO via anion substitution for SO. The combined iodine K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectra and first-principles calculations using density functional theory suggested that IO was stabilized in ettringite by hydrogen bonding and electrostatic forces. The bonding charge density analysis of the substituted IO into the ettringite structure revealed the interaction between intercalated IO with the structural water molecules. These results provided valuable insight into the long-term stabilization of anionic iodine species and their migration in cementitious nuclear waste repository or alkaline environments.