Developing Waste Forms for Transuranic Elements: Quaternary Neptunium Fluorides of the Type NaxMNp6F30 (M = Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Al, Ga)

Abstract

A series of quaternary Np(IV) fluorides was synthesized using a mild hydrothermal synthesis approach. The compositions are all of the type NaxMNp6F30, where M = Ti(III), V(III), Cr(III), Mn(II), Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), Al(III), and Ga(III) and x = 4 for divalent metals, x = 3 for trivalent metals. The compounds all crystallize in the P-3c1 space group and are isotypic with actinide analogues NaxMAn6F30 (An = Ce, U, Th, Pu). Structure data from the neptunium crystals were combined with data from the other actinide analogues to establish the tetravalent, nine-coordinated ionic radii of neptunium (1.030(2) Å), plutonium (1.014(1) Å), and cerium (1.012(2) Å). Radiation damage studies were also carried out on a surrogate material, the cerium analogue Na3AlCe6F30, which indicates that the structure type has low resistance to amorphization. Density functional theory calculations were carried out to compute the band gaps and enthalpies of formation variations among the isotypic cerium and actinide structures to compare the stability of the structures.