Abstract
Nuclear fuels production, structural materials, separation techniques, and waste management, all may benefit from an extensive knowledge in the nano-nuclear technology. In this line, we present here the production of U1-xThxO2 (x = 0 to 1) mixed oxides nanocrystals (NC’s) through the hydrothermal decomposition of the oxalates in hot compressed water at 250 °C. Particles of spherical shape and size of about 5.5–6 nm are obtained during the hydrothermal decomposition process. The powdery nanocrystalline products were consolidated by spark plasma sintering into homogeneous mixed oxides pellets with grain sizes in the 0.4 to 5.5 μm range. Grain growth and mechanical properties were studied as a function of composition and size. No grain size effect was observed on the hardness or elastic modulus.
Highlights
The thorium-uranium fuel cycle has some intriguing capabilities over the traditional one [1]
The relatively fast oxidation of uranium-rich compositions is in agreement with the high reactivity of the nanopowder reported here
It is interesting to note that the lattice parameter of the thorium-rich compositions (x ! 0.5) agree very well with the Vegard's law reported for thermally-treated samples, suggesting (i) the stabilising effect of thorium for the 4 þ oxidation state of uranium [19] and (ii) the absence of any observable size effect on the lattice parameters for pure ThO2 and U1-xThxO2 mixed oxides (MOX) nanoparticles (x ! 0.5), at least down to a size of about 6 nm
Summary
The thorium-uranium fuel cycle has some intriguing capabilities over the traditional one [1]. Besides the higher content as resource, L. Balice et al / Journal of Nuclear Materials 498 (2018) 307e313 fuel, presenting superior plutonium burning in Th-based mixed oxides (MOX) [1,2]. Thorium can be potentially employed in any type of nuclear reactor. In the near future the most interesting solution would be its integration in the currently operating thermal light water reactors as Th-based MOX [3]. Some experience is already available from the past [4]. Much effort still has to be done to judge all the advantages and drawbacks of thorium fuel cycle
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