Formation of β-UO from UCl Salt Compositions under Oxygen Exposure.

Complementary X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) and Raman spectroscopy studies were conducted on various UCl concentrations in alkali chloride salt compositions. The samples were 5 mol % UCl in LiCl (S1), 5 mol % UCl in KCl (S2), 5 mol % UCl in LiCl-KCl eutectic (S4), 50 mol % UCl in KCl (S5), and 20 mol % UCl in KCl (S6) molar concentrations. Samples were heated to 800 °C and allowed to cool to room temperature with measurements performed at selected temperatures; the highest temperatures showed the most stability and will be primarily referenced for conclusions.

Identification and Decomposition of Uranium Oxychloride Phases in Oxygen-Exposed UCl Salt Compositions.

Complementary X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy studies were conducted on several UCl concentrations in several chloride salt compositions. The samples were 5% UCl in LiCl (S1), 5% UCl in KCl (S2), 5% UCl in LiCl-KCl eutectic (S3), 5% UCl in LiCl-KCl eutectic (S4), 50% UCl in KCl (S5), and 20% UCl in KCl (S6) molar concentrations. Sample S3 had UCl sourced from Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and all other samples were UCl sourced from TerraPower.