Abstract
The preparation of a synthetic uranothorite with desired formula Th0.5U0.5SiO4 was performed under hydrothermal conditions from a mixture of tetravalent thorium and uranium in hydrochloric solution with sodium metasilicate. The XRD rietveld analysis revealed that the system obtained was composed by two crystallized phases. The first one corresponded to uranium-depleted Th0.57U0.43SiO4 with a = 7.0571(1) Å and c = 6.2998(1) Å that confirmed the formation of a solid solution between thorite and coffinite end-members. On the other hand, U-enriched Th0.21U0.79O2 dioxide was also pointed out while the formation of amorphous SiO2 was stated from elementary analyses and μ-Raman spectroscopy. This latter also led to confirm the formulation of the silicate by rejecting unambiguously the presence of structural hydroxyl groups or water molecules.
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