Spectroscopic properties of uranium(VI) minerals studied by time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS)

Abstract

We studied the fluorescence properties of 120 uranium minerals in order to provide a data base of potential secondary solids that may form in the flooding process of defunct uranium mines. This data base may provide a link of the fluorescence spectra of the minerals to solution spectra containing so far unknown tertiary and quaternary solution complexes in environmental uranium(VI)-containing waters. In our initial effort to establish the data base, we are focusing on phosphate- and arsenate-containing uranium(VI) minerals. Except for chernikovite [(H3O)2(UO2)2(PO4)2 · 6H2O], these minerals show intensive fluorescence emissions bands with a bathochromic shift of up to 18 nm compared to the fluorescence of the uranyl ion in solution. We found hypsochromic shifts of the fluorescence emission for the uranyl phosphates and bathochromic shifts for the uranyl arsenates. The band spacing of the fluorescence emissions from the 20502 cm-1 level are comparable to the vibrational frequency available from IR-data. Using these data we estimated the axial U-O bond lengths. The decrease of the vibration frequency from 813 cm-1 (saleiite, [Mg(UO2)2(PO4)2 · 10(H2O)]) to 794 cm-1 (uranocircite, [Ba(UO2)2(PO4)2 · 12(H2O)]) is related to a slight increase of the U-O bond length by 3 pm. In both series, the fluorescence lifetime decreases with decreasing crystal water. This is different compared to solution spectra where the lifetime increases as water is displaced from the inner coordination shell. Comparing the fluorescence data of the mineral troegerite [H2(UO2)2(AsO4)2 · 8(H2O)] with the fluorescence spectra of uranyl arsenate solutions, we identified one of the three uranyl arsenate complexes in solution as HUO2(AsO4)(aq.).