Uranium Oxide Nanocrystals by Microwave‐Assisted Thermal Decomposition: Electronic and Structural Properties

Abstract

Abstract. Uranium oxides have attracted much attention not only in the context of nuclear energy generation but also for their application as pristine catalysts or as supports for other (transition metal) oxides and (precious) metals. Their propensity to adopt high coordination numbers and manifest multiple oxidation states (from +II to +VI) makes them attractive candidates for catalyzed transformation reac-

Thorium amidates function as single-source molecular precursors for thorium dioxide

“…The chemistry of the early actinides is currently in a resurgence, with tremendous contributions towards new ligand systems [1][2][3][4][5] and advances in actinide materials. 1,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Research in thorium chemistry is often motivated by the global push for energy production, and thorium-fueled reactors are predicted to offer multiple advantages over conventional uranium dioxide-fueled reactors. [14][15][16][17] These include significantly lower production of radiotoxic transuranic elements in the thorium fuel cycle 18 and greater earth-abundance of thorium versus uranium.…”

Structural properties of ultra-small thorium and uranium dioxide nanoparticles embedded in a covalent organic framework

“…Reported standard deviations in the dimensions of actinide oxide nanoparticles synthesized colloidally range from 0.14-1.5 nm, independent of average particle size. 18,21,[73][74][75][76] These sizes correspond to 32 U and 51 Th atoms per particle on average when assuming bulk densities. The plotted Schulz distribution of nanoparticle sizes in each of the samples (Fig.…”

“…1,5,6 Actinide nanoparticles are also known to play a major role in the migration of radionuclides through environmental systems, [7][8][9][10][11] and have been proposed as agents for targeted alpha-therapy, [12][13][14][15][16][17] and for applications in thermopower 18 and heterogeneous catalysis. [19][20][21][22][23][24] Further innovation in these areas will require methods to synthesize and characterize actinides at the nanoscale, an area that is relatively unexplored and beyond current predictive capabilities. For stable d-block metals, it has been well-established that as grain size is reduced to the nanoscale in discrete particles certain electronic, magnetic, and chemical phenomena may emerge that do not occur in bulk solids or in molecular systems.…”

Volatile Rhenium(I) Compounds with Re–N Bonds and Their Conversion into Oriented Rhenium Nitride Films by Magnetic Field-Assisted Vapor Phase Deposition

“…However, due to the lack of suitable nitrogen sources, multisource CVD of phase-pure rhenium nitride layers is rather challenging . For instance, Re­(I) complexes with nitrogen-rich multidentate ligands, − which saturate the coordination sphere of the metal center and exhibit predetermined breaking points, are attractive alternative for low-temperature methods such as CVD and ALD techniques. Due to the soft character of the Re­(I) central atom, the incorporation of harder donor atoms like oxygen and carbon is suppressed, and phase contamination is reduced.…”