Abstract
The oxidation of the (111) surface of crystalline UO2via U3O7 to U3O8 has been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Oxidation was carried out at 463 and 573 K in 1 Torr† of oxygen. The formation of UO2+x and U4O9 was not observed under these conditions. Anisotropic growth of U3O8 revealed an epitaxial relationship between the cubic close-packed (111) plane of fluorite UO2 and the (001) basal plane of orthorhombic U3O8. It is proposed that the clustering of oxygen interstitial atoms in the fluorite lattice is instrumental in its ultimate breakdown and may be identified within the network of oxygen atoms present in U3O8.
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