Study on the relation between the crystal structure and thermal stability of FeUO and CrUO

Akiyama, Daisuke*; Kusaka, Ryoji; Kumagai, Yuta; Nakada, Masami; Watanabe, Masayuki; Okamoto, Yoshihiro; Nagai, Takayuki; Sato, Nobuaki*; Kirishima, Akira*

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 568, p.153847_1 - 153847_10, 2022/09

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2022.153847

FeUO, CrUO, and FeCrUO are monouranates containing pentavalent U. Even though these compounds have similar crystal structures, their formation conditions and thermal stability are significantly different. To determine the factors causing the difference in thermal stability between FeUO and CrUO, their crystal structures were evaluated in detail. A Raman band was observed at 700 cm in all the samples. This Raman band was derived from the stretching vibration of the O-U-O axis band, indicating that FeCrUO was composed of a uranyl-like structure in its lattice regardless of its "x"' value. Mssbauer measurements indicated that the Fe in FeUO and FeCrUO were trivalent. Furthermore, FeCrUO lost its symmetry around Fe with increasing electron densities around Fe, as the abundance of Cr increased. These results suggested no significant structural differences between FeUO and CrUO. Thermogravimetric measurements for UO, FeUO, and CrUO showed that the temperature at which FeUO decomposed under an oxidizing condition (approximately 800 C) was significantly lower than the temperature at which the decomposition of CrUO started (approximately 1250 C). Based on these results, we concluded that the decomposition of FeUO was triggered by an ``in-crystal'' redox reaction, i.e., Fe U Fe U, which would not occur in the CrUO lattice because Cr could never be reduced under the investigated condition. Finally, the existence of Cr in FexCrUO effectively suppressed the decomposition of the FeCrUO crystal, even at a very low Cr content.

Deep groundwater physicochemical components affecting actinide migration

Kirishima, Akira*; Terasaki, Mariko*; Miyakawa, Kazuya; Okamoto, Yoshihiro; Akiyama, Daisuke*

Chemosphere, 289, p.133181_1 - 133181_12, 2022/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.133181

no abstracts in English

Uranium dissolution and uranyl peroxide formation by immersion of simulated fuel debris in aqueous HO solution

Kumagai, Yuta; Kusaka, Ryoji; Nakada, Masami; Watanabe, Masayuki; Akiyama, Daisuke*; Kirishima, Akira*; Sato, Nobuaki*; Sasaki, Takayuki*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 11 Pages, 2022/03

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2021.2023055

We investigated potential degradation of fuel debris caused by HO, which is the oxidant of major impact from water radiolysis. We performed leaching experiments on different kinds of simulated debris comprising U, Fe, Cr, Ni, and Zr in an aqueous HO solution. Chemical analysis of the leaching solution showed that U dissolution was induced by HO. Raman analysis after the leaching revealed that uranyl peroxides were formed on the surface of the simulated debris. These results demonstrate that uranyl peroxides are possible alteration products of fuel debris from HO reaction. However, the sample in which the main uranium-containing phase was a U-Zr oxide solid solution showed much less uranium dissolution and no Raman signal of uranyl peroxides. Comparison of these results indicates that formation of an oxide solid solution of Zr with UO improves the stability of fuel debris against HO reaction.

Catalog of gamma-ray glows during four winter seasons in Japan

Wada, Yuki*; Matsumoto, Takahiro*; Enoto, Teruaki*; Nakazawa, Kazuhiro*; Yuasa, Takayuki*; Furuta, Yoshihiro*; Yonetoku, Daisuke*; Sawano, Tatsuya*; Okada, Go*; Nanto, Hidehito*; et al.

Physical Review Research (Internet), 3(4), p.043117_1 - 043117_31, 2021/12

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.043117

Summary results of subsidy program for the "Project of Decommissioning and Contaminated Water Management (Development of Analysis and Estimation Technology for Characterization of Fuel Debris (Development of Technologies for Enhanced Analysis Accuracy and Thermal Behavior Estimation of Fuel Debris))"

Koyama, Shinichi; Nakagiri, Toshio; Osaka, Masahiko; Yoshida, Hiroyuki; Kurata, Masaki; Ikeuchi, Hirotomo; Maeda, Koji; Sasaki, Shinji; Onishi, Takashi; Takano, Masahide; et al.

Hairo, Osensui Taisaku jigyo jimukyoku Homu Peji (Internet), 144 Pages, 2021/08

https://dccc-program.jp/3797

JAEA performed the subsidy program for the "Project of Decommissioning and Contaminated Water Management (Development of Analysis and Estimation Technology for Characterization of Fuel Debris (Development of Technologies for Enhanced Analysis Accuracy and Thermal Behavior Estimation of Fuel Debris))" in 2020JFY. This presentation summarized briefly the results of the project, which will be available shortly on the website of Management Office for the Project of Decommissioning and Contaminated Water Management.

Distribution of studtite and metastudtite generated on the surface of UO; Application of Raman imaging technique to uranium compound

Kusaka, Ryoji; Kumagai, Yuta; Yomogida, Takumi; Takano, Masahide; Watanabe, Masayuki; Sasaki, Takayuki*; Akiyama, Daisuke*; Sato, Nobuaki*; Kirishima, Akira*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 58(6), p.629 - 634, 2021/06

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2020.1854881

Production of Bh in the Cm(Na,5)Bh reaction and its decay properties

Haba, Hiromitsu*; Fan, F.*; Kaji, Daiya*; Kasamatsu, Yoshitaka*; Kikunaga, Hidetoshi*; Komori, Yukiko*; Kondo, Narumi*; Kudo, Hisaaki*; Morimoto, Koji*; Morita, Kosuke*; et al.

Physical Review C, 102(2), p.024625_1 - 024625_12, 2020/08

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.102.024625

Synthesis of new perovskite-type oxyfluorides, BaInOF and comparison of the structure among perovskite-type oxyfluorides

Katsumata, Tetsuhiro*; Suzuki, Ryo*; Sato, Naoto*; Suzuki, Shumpei*; Nakashima, Mamoru*; Inaguma, Yoshiyuki*; Mori, Daisuke*; Aimi, Akihisa*; Yoneda, Yasuhiro

Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 279, p.120919_1 - 120919_8, 2019/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssc.2019.120919

Thermodynamic study of the complexation of humic acid by calorimetry

Kimuro, Shingo; Kirishima, Akira*; Kitatsuji, Yoshihiro; Miyakawa, Kazuya; Akiyama, Daisuke*; Sato, Nobuaki*

Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics, 132, p.352 - 362, 2019/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jct.2019.01.011

A combination of potentiometry and calorimetry was used for the determination of the thermodynamic quantities of complexation of generic and groundwater humic acid (HA), which was isolated from deep groundwater at Horonobe, Hokkaido, Japan, with copper (II) ions and uranyl (VI) ions. The apparent complexation constant of Horonobe HA was independent of the pH, whereas that of generic HA was dependent on the pH. This observation indicates that the polyelectrolyte effect of Horonobe HA is negligible because of its small molecular size. In addition, the effect of the heterogeneity of Horonobe HA was not significant. Moreover, the complexation enthalpy of Horonobe HA was consistent with that of homogeneous poly(acrylic acid), which means the complexation of Horonobe HA was not affected by the functional group heterogeneity. Consequently, the characteristic complexation mechanism of Horonobe HA was revealed based on the determined thermodynamic quantities.

First ionization potentials of Fm, Md, No, and Lr; Verification of filling-up of 5f electrons and confirmation of the actinide series

Sato, Tetsuya; Asai, Masato; Borschevsky, A.*; Beerwerth, R.*; Kaneya, Yusuke*; Makii, Hiroyuki; Mitsukai, Akina*; Nagame, Yuichiro; Osa, Akihiko; Toyoshima, Atsushi; et al.

Journal of the American Chemical Society, 140(44), p.14609 - 14613, 2018/11

https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.8b09068

The first ionization potential (IP) yields information on valence electronic structure of an atom. IP values of heavy actinides beyond einsteinium (Es, Z = 99), however, have not been determined experimentally so far due to the difficulty in obtaining these elements on scales of more than one atom at a time. Recently, we successfully measured IP of lawrencium (Lr, Z = 103) using a surface ionization method. The result suggests that Lr has a loosely-bound electron in the outermost orbital. In contrast to Lr, nobelium (No, Z = 102) is expected to have the highest IP among the actinide elements owing to its full-filled 5f and the 7s orbitals. In the present study, we have successfully determined IP values of No as well as fermium (Fm, Z = 100) and mendelevium (Md, Z = 101) using the surface ionization method. The obtained results indicate that the IP value of heavy actinoids would increase monotonically with filling electrons up in the 5f orbital like heavy lanthanoids.