Characterization of a Cerium-Rich Pyrochlore-Based Ceramic Nuclear Waste Form
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II6.4.1
CHARACTERIZATION OF A CERIUM-RICH PYROCHLOREBASED CERAMIC NUCLEAR WASTE FORM R. GIERÉ*, S. SEGVICH*,**, E.C. BUCK*** *
Earth&Atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2051, USA; [email protected] ** Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA *** Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, P. O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352, USA
ABSTRACT Titanate ceramics have been proposed as candidate materials for immobilizing excess weapons plutonium. This study focuses on the characterization of a titanate-based ceramic through X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron probe microanalysis, and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). Three distinct phases have been identified, and their volume fraction was determined from element distribution maps using Scionimage-NIH Analysis software. This analysis revealed that the pyrochlore-group phase betafite (A2Ti2O7) forms the matrix of the ceramic and occupies 90.4% of the volume. Uniformly distributed in this matrix are perovskite (A2Ti2O6) and Hf-enriched rutile (TiO2), which account for 6.4 vol% and 3.1 vol%, respectively. The studied ceramic exhibits a very low porosity (0.3 vol%), which is characterized by small (
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