Irradiation effects in hydrated zirconium molybdate

Chloé Fourdrin (1, 2) , S. Esnouf (2) , V. Dauvois (2) , J.-P. Renault (1) , L. Venault (3) , M. Tabarant (4) , D. Durand (2) , A. Chenière (3) , C. Lamouroux-Lucas (2) , F. Cochin (5)

1 LRad - Laboratoire de Radiolyse (LCF)
2 LRMO - Laboratoire de Radiolyse et de la Matière Organique
3 DRCP - Département RadioChimie et Procédés
4 DPC - Département de Physico-Chimie
5 AREVA NC

Hydrated zirconium molybdate is a precipitate formed during the process of spent nuclear fuel dissolution. In order to study the radiation stability of this material, we performed gamma and electron irradiation in a dose range of 10–100 kGy. XRD patterns showed that the crystalline structure is not affected by irradiation. However, the yellow original sample exhibits a blue–grey color after exposure. The resulting samples were analyzed by means of EPR and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Two sites for trapped electrons were evidenced leading to a d1 configuration responsible for the observed coloration. Moreover, a third defect corresponding to a hole trapped on oxygen was observed after electron irradiation at low temperature.

Domaines: Chimie inorganique; Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

Chloé Fourdrin, S. Esnouf, V. Dauvois, J.-P. Renault, L. Venault, et al.. Irradiation effects in hydrated zirconium molybdate. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2012, 426 (1-3), pp.9530-9537. ⟨10.1016/j.jnucmat.2012.02.028⟩. ⟨hal-00869866⟩