Effect of the Oxygen Potential on the Mo Migration and Speciation in UO and UO.

Molybdenum is an abundant element produced by fission in the nuclear fuel UO in a pressurized water reactor. Although its radiotoxicity is low, this element has a key role on the fuel oxidation and other fission products migration, in particular in the case of an accidental scenario. This study aims to characterize the behavior of molybdenum in uranium dioxide as a function of environmental conditions (oxygen partial pressure, high temperature, UO oxidation) typical of an accidental scenario.

Nickel(II) Complexation with Nitrate in Dry [C4mim][Tf2N] Ionic Liquid: A Spectroscopic, Microcalorimetric, and Molecular Dynamics Study.

The complex formation of nitrate ions with nickel(II) in dry [C4mim][Tf2N] ionic liquid (IL) was investigated by means of UV-visible spectrophotometry, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. EXAFS spectroscopy and MD simulations show that the solvated Ni(II) cation is initially coordinated by the oxygens of the [Tf2N](-) anion of IL, which can behave either as mono- or bidentate. Spectroscopic and thermodynamic data show that Ni(II) is able to form up to three stable mononuclear complexes with nitrate in this solvent.