Experimental measurements and theoretical evaluation of changes in chemical speciation of α-UO3 using XRD, EXAFS, TGA, and DFT calculations.

Changes in the visual characteristics of uranium oxide surfaces and morphology following storage under different conditions of temperature and relative humidity may provide insight into the history of an unknown sample. Sub-samples of three a-U 3 O 8 materials-one that was phase-pure and two that were phase-impure-were stored under controlled conditions for two years. Scanning electron microscopy was used to image the oxides before and after storage, and a morphology lexicon was used to characterize the images. Temporal changes in morphology were observed in some sub-samples, and changes were greatest following exposure to high relative humidity.

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