Structural and thermodynamic properties of sodium actinide ternary oxides

In the potential event of a clad breach in a Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR), the sodium metallic coolant could come into contact with the (U,Pu,Np)O₂ nuclear fuel. The reaction products are numerous, but there is little knowledge of their structural and thermodynamic properties. Under the oxygen potential conditions of the reactor, pentavalent Na₃AnO₄ (An=U,Pu,Np) is expected to form, but its structure was the subject of controversy until now. We showed that α-Na₃UO₄ adopts a monoclinic symmetry in space group P2/c. Neutron diffraction combined with X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) spectroscopy at the U-M₄ edge also revealed that this phase could accommodate excess sodium on the uranium site, with subsequent charge compensation of the uranium cation from U(V) to U(VI), which was not previously foreseen. The corresponding mixed valence state composition is written Na₃(U_1-x,Na_x)O₄ with 0<x<0.16(2). To complete the data on the Na-U-O system, the thermodynamic functions of Na₂U₂O₇ and Na₄UO₅ were evaluated using Knudsen effusion mass spectrometry (KEMS) and thermal-relaxation calorimetry. In addition, the oxygen content required at 900 K within liquid sodium to form pentavalent Na₃UO₄ and hexavalent Na₄UO₅ were calculated to be 0.7 and 1.5 wppm, respectively, which are levels typically encountered in SFRs. A thermodynamic model for the Np-O system was then developed using the CALPHAD method. This is particularly relevant since it is envisaged to incorporate minor actinides into the fuel to minimize the nuclear waste inventory. The poorly known structures of the Na- Np-O and Na-Pu-O phases diagrams, i.e., tetravalent Na₂AnO₃ (An=Np,Pu), pentavalent Na₃AnO₄, hexavalent Na₄AnO₅ and α-Na₂NpO₄, and heptavalent Na₅AnO₆, were also re-fined by the Rietveld method. The structures of Na₃NpO₄ and Na₃PuO₄ were determined ab initio from powder X-ray diffraction data, and found to be orthorhombic in the space group Fmmm. The valence states of the neptunium cations were confirmed from the isomer shift values of their Mössbauer spectra. Having established the charge states without ambiguity, XANES spectra were collected at the Np-L₃ and Pu-L₃ edges to serve as reference data for An(V), An(VI), and An(VII) oxide phases in the solid state. Finally, KEMS studies of α-Na₂NpO₄ showed very promising results for the determination of the enthalpies of formation of the sodium neptunates and plutonates, for which there is almost no data available. The heat capacities and entropies at 298.15 K of α-Na₂NpO₄, Na₄NpO₅, Na₅NpO₆, and Na₅PuO₆ were also determined. Comparing their Gibbs energy values, the sodium neptunates were found to be slightly more stable than their isostructural uranium analogues.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Cambridge

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Smith, Anna Louise

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Cheetham, Anthony

Licence

• https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/b97119d9-8a25-402a-952f-144dc6a1d60b/download
• https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/
• https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/f9c1c255-4359-4ea7-bb08-991e6f063883/download

Language dc:language

en

DOI dc:identifier.doi

https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.8361

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/263068