According to foreign media reports, a group of scientists stumbled upon a new stable form of plutonium. As we all know, this unstable element is usually difficult to transport, store and handle, but this latest discovery may bring new ways to solve these problems.
As a powerful energy source, plutonium is also a potentially devastating substance. Some of its isotopes can exist for tens of millions of years. If it enters the groundwater, it is definitely news that can never be suffered.
Given these stakes, people must learn as much as possible about plutonium to ensure that it is produced, used, transported, stored, and handled as safely as possible. Scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (hereinafter referred to as HZDR) accidentally discovered a new stable form of plutonium while doing so.
Plutonium sample
Plutonium dioxide is a relatively safe form. It is a ceramic material that is insoluble in water, has a high melting point, and is relatively stable. Nanoparticles of plutonium dioxide can be made from different precursors in the form of different plutonium isotopes. When the researchers tried to use a precursor called plutonium (VI) (or Pu (VI)) dissolved in water, they discovered a strange reaction: in the process of conversion to plutonium dioxide, plutonium (VI) experienced A stable transitional period. It appears to be pentavalent plutonium or Pu (V), but this form is usually not solid and unstable. In fact, this finding was so surprising that the research team's initial reaction was that there was a problem with the synthesis.
"Every time we make nanoparticles from other precursors Pu (III), Pu (IV) or Pu (V), the reaction is very fast, but here we observe a strange phenomenon," the lead investigator of the study Kristina Kvashnina said, "Chemists can't believe it, but the results are clear."
To confirm their findings, the researchers tested on the X-ray absorption spectrometer Rossendorf Beamline (ROBL). The device can study the energy of radioactive materials and measure their fluorescence by exposing them to X-rays.
As expected, the experiment confirmed the new Pu (V) state. The researchers even saw the stability of the material when they checked again three months later.
To be precise, what kind of results this new discovery will bring is unclear, but the research team said that this issue needs to be considered when trying to predict what will happen to nuclear waste in a long period
Related research reports have been published in "Angewandte Chemie".
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