Chemical and Isotopic Characterization of Noble Metal Phase from Commercial UO2Fuel

Kristi L. Pellegrini, Chuck Z. Soderquist, Steve D. Shen, Eirik J. Krogstad, Camille J. Palmer, Kyzer R. Gerez, Edgar C. Buck, Timothy G. Lach, Jon M. Schwantes, Richard A. Clark

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    9 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    We report elemental and isotopic analysis for the noble metal fission product phase found in irradiated nuclear fuel. The noble metal phase was isolated from three commercial irradiated UO2 fuels by chemically dissolving the UO2 fuel matrix, leaving the noble metal phase as the undissolved residue. Macro amounts of this residue were dissolved using a KOH + KNO3 fusion and then chemically separated into individual elements for analysis by mass spectrometry. Though the composition of this phase has been previously reported, this work is the most comprehensive chemical analysis of the isolated noble metal phase to date. We report both elemental and isotopic abundances of the five major components of the noble metal phase (Mo, Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd). In addition, we report a sixth element present in high quantities in this phase, tellurium. Tellurium appears to be an integral component of noble metal particles.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)6522-6529
    Number of pages8
    JournalAnalytical Chemistry
    Volume91
    Issue number10
    DOIs
    StatePublished - May 21 2019

    All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

    • Analytical Chemistry

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