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Low‐temperature synthesis of uranium monocarbide by a Pechini‐type in situ polymerizable complex method
Author(s) -
Guo Hangxu,
Wang Jieru,
Bai Jing,
Cao Shiwei,
Chen Denglei,
Sun Yalou,
Yin Xiaojie,
Tian Wei,
Tan Cunmin,
Huang Qing,
Qin Zhi,
Deng Qihuang
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/jace.15438
Subject(s) - materials science , uranium , aqueous solution , nuclear chemistry , carbon fibers , carbothermic reaction , chemical engineering , nanocomposite , citric acid , chemistry , carbide , composite number , metallurgy , nanotechnology , composite material , organic chemistry , engineering
Uranium monocarbide (UC) was successfully synthesized by the Pechini‐type in situ polymerizable complex technique (IPC) with the organic matter as the only carbon source. In the aqueous process, a mixture of citric acid (CA) and mannitol with UO 2 2 +was polymerized to form a spongy‐like organic polymeric precursor without any precipitations. The structural evolution and formation mechanism of the precursor were investigated using XRD, DSC‐TG, SEM (EDX), TEM, and FT‐IR. XRD results demonstrated that UC was obtained with the UO 2 2 + /mannitol/CA molar ratios of 1.0/0.3/1.0 at a low temperature of 1400°C. SEM and TEM analyses revealed that the UO 2 nanoparticles were uniformly distributed in the carbon matrix to form UO 2 /C nanocomposites, and submicrometer‐sized ellipsoidal UC particles cemented together. FT‐IR showed that a UO 2 2 + ‐CA chelated structure was firstly obtained, achieving the molecular scale mixing of uranium and C. Then the in situ charring guaranteed the intimate contact of UO 2 and C, leading to a low reaction temperature in carbothermal reduction owing to a short diffusion distance.