Application of chemical structure and bonding of actinide oxide materials for forensic science
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
We are interested in applying our understanding of actinide chemical structure and bonding to broaden the suite of analytical tools available for nuclear forensic analyses. Uranium- and plutonium-oxide systems form under a variety of conditions, and these chemical species exhibit some of the most complex behavior of metal oxide systems known. No less intriguing is the ability of AnO{sub 2} (An: U, Pu) to form non-stoichiometric species described as AnO{sub 2+x}. Environmental studies have shown the value of utilizing the chemical signatures of these actinide oxide materials to understand transport following release into the environment. Chemical speciation of actinide-oxide samples may also provide clues as to the age, source, or process history of the material. The scientific challenge is to identify, measure and understand those aspects of speciation of actinide analytes that carry information about material origin and history most relevant to forensics. Here, we will describe our efforts in material synthesis and analytical methods development that we will use to provide the fundamental science to characterize actinide oxide molecular structures for forensic science. Structural properties and initial results to measure structural variability of uranium oxide samples using synchrotron-based X-ray Absorption Fine Structure will be discussed.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 1017480
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-10-03827; LA-UR-10-3827; TRN: US1103274
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Institute of Nuclear Materials Management 52st Annual Meeting ; July 12, 2010 ; Baltimore, MD
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Chemical aspects of actinides in the geosphere: towards a rational nuclear materials management
ACTINIDE-ALUMINATE SPECIATION IN ALKALINE RADIOACTIVE WASTE