Abstract
The melting points of UO2 and PuO2 in a helium atmosphere were found to be 2730°× 30° C and 2280°× 30° C, respectively. With the exception of a melting maximum at the composition 90 UO2–10 wt% PuO2, the liquidus exhibits good continuity and agrees well with that calculated from thermodynamic data. X-ray diffraction data on melted PuO2 and UO2-PuO2 solid solutions indicate that oxygen is evolved during melting but that no reduction to a second-phase plutonium suboxide occurs. The oxygen-plutonium atomic ratio of melted PuO2 is 1.62, so that the 2280° C temperature reported here is the result of a dissociation reaction and is considered to be a pseudo melting point. Lattice parameters of melted UO2–PuO2 samples vary linearly with composition but are approximately 0.2% greater than anticipated because of an oxygen deficiency.
Published Version
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