In Situ Liquid Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy Study of Studtite Particle Formation and Growth via Electron Beam Radiolysis.

Autor: Kurtyka N; Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Utah, 110 Central Campus Dr., Suite 2000, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States., van Devener B; Electron Microscopy and Surface Analysis Laboratory, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States., Chung BW; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Ave., Livermore, California 94550, United States., McDonald LW 4th; Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Utah, 110 Central Campus Dr., Suite 2000, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: ACS omega [ACS Omega] 2023 Dec 05; Vol. 8 (50), pp. 48336-48343. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Dec 05 (Print Publication: 2023).
DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c07743
Abstrakt: This study presents in situ observations of studtite (UO 2 O 2 (H 2 O) 2 ·2H 2 O) crystal growth utilizing liquid phase transmission electron microscopy (LP-TEM). Studtite was precipitated from a uranyl nitrate hexahydrate solution using hydrogen peroxide formed by the radiolysis of water in the TEM electron beam. The hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) concentration, directly controlled by the electron beam current, was varied to create local environments of low and high concentrations to compare the impact of the supersaturation ratio on the nucleation and growth mechanisms of studtite particles. The subsequent growth mechanisms were observed in real time by TEM and scanning TEM imaging. After the initial precipitation reaction, a post-mortem TEM analysis was performed on the samples to obtain high-resolution TEM images and selected area electron diffraction patterns to investigate crystallinity as well as energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy spectra to ensure that studtite was produced. The results reveal that studtite particles form through various mechanisms based on the concentration ratio of uranyl to H 2 O 2 and that studtite is initially produced through an amorphous intermediary prior to formation of the crystalline material commonly reported in the literature.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest.
(© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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