Dissolution of zirconium-cerium oxide solid solution in an aqueous system

Kobayashi, Taishi*; Sato, Yutaro*; Tonna, Ryutaro*; Matsumura, Daiju   ; Sasaki, Takayuki*; Ikeda, Atsushi  

This study investigates the dissolution behaviour of zirconium-cerium oxide solid solution ((Zr,Ce)O/(Ce,Zr)O), which contains a redox-active metal of Ce (Ce(III/IV)) and is of particular importance in nuclear industry. The solid phases of the solid-solution were comprehensively characterised by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) with the Rietveld analysis and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) with factor analysis, indicating that the solid-solution is primarily composed of tetragonal-(Zr,Ce)O and cubic-(Ce,Zr)O. Water immersion of the solid-solution leads to the dissolution of the solid phase at the solid-liquid interface. The addition of a reductant to the system reduces Ce(IV) in the solid-solution to -(III) at the surface, promoting the dissolution of Ce from the solid-solution phase. The release of Ce from the solid-solution also enriches the Zr content in the remaining solid-solution phase at the surface to be more insoluble.