New results (01/10/2025)
Team LSFCWhile so-called “bulk” plutonium dioxide is known for its highly refractory character toward dissolution, recent studies have shown that colloidal PuO2 samples can exhibit enhanced reactivity when subjected to ultrasonic irradiation under an Ar/(20%)O2 atmosphere. In particular, it has been demonstrated that sonolysis of PuO2 nanoparticles produced by hydrolysis, with an average diameter of about 3 nm, leads to the accumulation of Pu(VI) in solution. This observation indicates the dissolution of the nanoparticles present in the suspension and has been shown to be closely linked to the in situ formation of H2O2 under ultrasonic treatment. Additional analyses revealed the transient formation of a Pu(IV) peroxide species, never previously reported in the literature, which could be involved in the dissolution mechanism of these PuO2 particles. Beyond the fundamental insights provided by this work, the demonstration of the mild-condition dissolution of PuO2 nanoparticles is of potential interest for the reprocessing of aqueous solutions arising from the nuclear industry.
Credit: ICSM/LSFC
Further information can be found in the following articles derived from Julien Margate’s PhD thesis:
