Synthesis and investigation of uranyl molybdate UO2MoO4

In order to examine easily synthetic conditions of uranyl molybdate, UO2MoO4, used for the reprocessing process study of spent nuclear oxide fuels in alkaline molybdate melts, the uranium molybdate compounds were produced from U3O8 powder and anhydrous MoO3 reagent. The results of having investigated them in solid state by using X-ray diffractometry and Raman spectrometry, it was confirmed that UO2MoO4 could be synthesized by heating mixed powder of U3O8 and MoO3 with stoichiometric mole ratio at 770 degrees C for 4 h under air atmosphere. Moreover, adding this UO2MoO4 into Li2MoO4-Na2MoO4 eutectic melt, most of the dissolved uranium species in the melt were observed as hexa-valent uranyl ions by absorption spectrophotometry. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.