Fluorimetric estimation of U(VI) in the presence of a large excess of Th(IV)

A fluorescence based method has been developed for the determination of trace amounts of uranium in thorium matrix using a mixture of phosphoric acid (H3PO4) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4), as fluorescence enhancing reagent for uranyl (UO2 (2+)) ion fluorescence. Synthetic samples mimicking the composition of ThO2 fuel were prepared and the concentration of U(VI) was estimated. Satisfactory results are obtained when uranium is present at a concentration of 10 ppm in solid thorium samples with good precision.