X-ray absorption spectroscopy studies of reactions of technetium, uranium and neptunium with mackinawite.

Technetium, uranium and neptunium may all occur in the environment in more than one oxidation state (IV or VII, IV or VI and IV or V respectively). The surface of mackinawite, the first-formed iron sulfide phase in anoxic conditions, can promote redox changes so a series of laboratory experiments were carried out to explore the interactions of Tc, U and Np with this mineral. The products of reaction were characterised using X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

An X-ray absorption spectroscopy study of neptunium(V) reactions with Mackinawite (FeS).

Neptunium is a transuranium element, produced in tonne quantities in nuclear reactors. Because it has access to a range of oxidation states, neptunium may undergo redox transformations in the environment and these can have far-reaching effects on its environmental mobility. Here, the reaction of NpO2+ (the soluble and thermodynamically stable neptunium species in oxic systems) with microcrystalline mackinawite is studied.