Glass-Containing Matrices Based on Borosilicate Glasses for the Immobilization of Radioactive Wastes

Abstract

Glass-containing materials are widely considered among the most reliable materials for the immobilization of radioactive waste materials. The present work considers the synthesis of glass–ceramic and glass crystalline composite materials based on borosilicate glasses. The synthesis of glass–ceramic materials was carried out by a gradual temperature decrease, followed by crystallization for several hours. Sintering of crushed samples with crystalline components was carried out as an alternative procedure. Porous glasses were produced from glass melts by quenching. After impregnating the resulting porous materials with aqueous solutions of cesium nitrate, compaction of the glass was carried out to form glass crystalline composites. The thermochemical characteristics of the parent glasses were determined using the differential scanning calorimetry method. The phase composition and structure of the glass-containing materials were determined using X-ray phase analysis, X-ray spectral microanalysis, and Raman spectroscopy.