Abstract
The effect of heating (150 to 500/sup 0/C) in vacuum a plutonium substrate with a plutonium oxide surface film was studied utilizing X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). When plutonium metal with a surface oxide film is vacuum heat treated, the oxide is reduced by reaction of the substrate metal with the oxide. The reactions occurring were examined by monitoring the binding energies of the Pu(4f/sub 7/2/), O(1s), and C(1s) XPS peaks and observing the C(KLL) Auger electron peak structure. These results were compared with the x-ray diffraction data of Terada et al. (J. Nucl. Mater. 30: 340(1969). The XPS and AES data show that at higher reaction temperatures (400 to 500/sup 0/C) the surface compound formed is not PuO as indicated by Terada et al., but is instead a plutonium oxycarbide (Pu(C,O)) compound. The Pu(4f/sub 7/2/) binding energies for PuO/sub 2/, PuO/sub 1/ /sub 52/ (..cap alpha..-Pu/sub 2/O/sub 3/), Pu(C,O), and Pu metal are 426.1, 424.4, 423.6, and 422.2 eV, respectively.
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