Oxygen atoms create detailed architectures in uranium dioxide, altering our understanding of corrosion
Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - 05:30
in Physics & Chemistry
Corrosion follows a different path when it comes to uranium dioxide, the primary component of the rods that power nuclear reactors, according to a new study by scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Chicago, and the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource. In uranium dioxide, the oxygen atoms-key corrosion creators-do not diffuse randomly through the material. Rather, the oxygen atoms settle into the third, sixth, ninth, etc., layers. They space themselves within the layers and alter the structure by causing the layers of uranium atoms above and below to draw closer to the oxygen. The oxygen atoms essentially self-assemble into a highly structured array.