Chemical state analysis of uranium dioxide particles by micro-Raman mapping

Yomogida, Takumi   ; Kitatsuji, Yoshihiro  ; Miyamoto, Yutaka   

The Research Group for Safeguards Analytical Chemistry is currently developing a method to analyze the chemical state of uranium particles in environmental samples collected at nuclear facilities using micro-Raman spectroscopy. The chemical state of uranium particles in environmental samples can be partially oxidized by long-term exposure to air. It is necessary to develop a method to analyze the chemical state of the entire particle. In this study, uranium dioxide stored under atmospheric conditions was analyzed by micro-Raman mapping. The Raman spectra showed that uranium peroxide was locally present in the UO particle. The Raman peaks originating from the structure of UO around 570 cm and 1150 cm could not be observed in the point analysis of the particle center. On the other hand, in mapping analysis, Raman peaks originating from the structure of UO can be observed from the same particle, demonstrating that Raman mapping analysis is an effective method for analyzing the chemical state of the entire particle.