Retention of radionuclides in sol-gel surrogate nuclear explosive debris

Sol-gel vitrification can be used to rapidly produce solid, vitreous materials to support nuclear forensics research. This work investigates three sol-gel synthetic approaches' ability to retain fission products within the glass as a function of drying temperature. Eight of the ten fission products studied were quantitatively retained (less than 5% losses) at temperatures up to 600 degrees C for glasses prepared using an acidic catalyst and at temperatures up to 300 degrees C for glasses prepared using a basic catalyst. Both systems show partial loss of ruthenium and complete loss of iodine at temperatures above 300 and 100 degrees C, respectively.

Automated summary

Sol-gel vitrification is a rapid method for producing solid, vitreous materials for nuclear forensics research. This study compares the ability of three sol-gel synthetic approaches to retain fission products within the glass at different drying temperatures. Results show that using an acidic catalyst, eight out of ten fission products were quantitatively retained up to 600 degrees C, while using a basic catalyst, retention was observed up to 300 degrees C. However, ruthenium and iodine showed partial and complete losses, respectively, at temperatures above 300 and 100 degrees C.