Synthesis of U3O8 with secondary honeycomb morphology

Uranium enrichment engages UF6 gas, which is prepared from U3O8 powder. U3O8 powder has been prepared by some methods like: chemical transport reactions, solid –state thermal decomposition of a new dioxidouranium (VI) complex, surfactant templating-crystal growth technique. In this research, by constant current density of 5 mA.cm-2, we used galvanostatic electro-deposition to synthesize a sample of UO3 by a simple, fast, and clean method in a closed system. After deposition of UO2(OH)2 at electrode surface, the sample was scratched and oxidized by the thermal annealing at 300-700 °C to form U3O8. powder. The as-prepared powder was analysed by XRD synthesis to confirm that the product was U3O8. The SEM image showed the unique honeycomb structure.

Keywords:

Uranium oxide , U3O8 , Electro-deposition , nanoparticles , SEM , XRD , Honeycomb