Using magnetization measurements to detect small amounts of plutonium hydride formation in plutonium metal
- Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, NJ (United States)
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
We report the formation of plutonium hydride in 2 at % Ga-stabilized δ-Pu, with 1 atomic % H charging. We show that magnetization measurements are a sensitive, quantitative measure of ferromagnetic plutonium hydride against the nonmagnetic background of plutonium. It was previously shown that at low hydrogen concentrations, hydrogen forms super-abundant vacancy complexes with plutonium, resulting in a bulk lattice contraction. Here we use magnetization, X-ray and neutron diffraction measurements to show that in addition to forming vacancy complexes, at least 30% of the H atoms bond with Pu to precipitate PuHx, largely on the surface of the sample with x ~ 1.9. We observe magnetic hysteresis loops below 40 K with magnetic remanence, consistent with precipitates of ferromagnetic PuH1.9.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 1160101
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-13-29611
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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