Carbonization of solid uranyl-ascorbate gel as an indirect step of uranium carbide synthesis

Abstract

The studies of the synthesis of uranium carbide from uranyl-ascorbate gels using the complex sol-gel process (CSGP) have been carried out. The synthesis of uranyl-ascorbate mixture as liquid sol from uranium trioxide and ascorbic acid and solid gel by extraction of water from sol were carefully examined. Ascorbic acid was used as a complexing agent in complex sol-gel process and as a carbon source. The crucial step to obtain final uranium carbides from the aforementioned substrates is the carbonization process. The thermal behavior of ascorbic acid and uranyl-ascorbate gels in a nitrogen atmosphere in the temperature range of 25-900°C were investigated using TG-DTG. Furthermore, the products of the carbonization of uranyl-ascorbate gels in nitrogen, argon and vacuum atmosphere were identified by X-ray diffraction. TG-DTG was used also as a method for determining of carbon residues in the samples.

Development of Analytical Procedures for Chemical Characterization of Substrates for the Production of TRISO Coated Particles as Nuclear Fuel in High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors

“…0.5 mm) as a result of the sol-gel process. Obtaining spherical nuclear fuel precursors with a controlled composition and shape has been the subject of research work carried out at the institute in recent years [12][13][14][15][16]. In all these works, the authors' concept of modification of the standard sol-gel method, i.e., the Complex Sol-Gel Process (CSGP) was applied, where organometallic compounds and organic acid salts were used as substrates.…”

Archives of Metallurgy and Materials

“…The method of synthesis has been reported in our recent publications in 2014 [3,4]. In the present work, developed at Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology the Complex Sol-Gel Process (CSGP), previously used for synthesis various types' ceramic materials [3][4][5][6][7], was applied to synthesize the perovskite-rutile-type Synroc. To simulate the incorporation process of the high level nuclear waste into a matrix, ionic liquid forms of non-radioactive Co, Cs, Nd and Sr, were used.…”

Archives of Metallurgy and Materials

“…The CSGP has been used to synthesize a variety of advanced ceramic materials e.g. Li 2 TiO 3 [16], uranium carbide [17,18], and thorium dioxide [19].…”