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Materials Data on ZrCl4 by Materials Project

ZrCl4 crystallizes in the monoclinic P2/c space group. The structure is one-dimensional and consists of one ZrCl4 ribbon oriented in the (1, 0, 0) direction. Zr4+ is bonded to six Cl1- atoms to form distorted edge-sharing ZrCl6 octahedra. There are a spread of Zr–Cl bond distances ranging from 2.34–2.71 Å. There are two inequivalent Cl1- sites. In the first Cl1- site, Cl1- is bonded in a single-bond geometry to one Zr4+ atom. In the second Cl1- site, Cl1- is bonded in a water-like geometry to two equivalent Zr4+ atoms.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Materials Data on ZrTcCl by Materials Project

ZrTcCl is half-Heusler structured and crystallizes in the cubic F-43m space group. The structure is three-dimensional. Zr4+ is bonded to four equivalent Cl1- atoms to form distorted ZrCl4 tetrahedra that share corners with four equivalent TcCl4 tetrahedra, corners with twelve equivalent ZrCl4 tetrahedra, and edges with six equivalent TcCl4 tetrahedra. All Zr–Cl bond lengths are 2.59 Å. Tc3- is bonded to four equivalent Cl1- atoms to form distorted TcCl4 tetrahedra that share corners with four equivalent ZrCl4 tetrahedra, corners with twelve equivalent TcCl4 tetrahedra, and edges with six equivalent ZrCl4 tetrahedra. All Tc–Cl bond lengths are 2.59 Å. Cl1- is bonded in a body-centered cubic geometry to four equivalent Zr4+ and four equivalent Tc3- atoms.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Synthesis and Flash Sintering of (Hf1-xZrx)B2 Solid Solution Fine Powders

Fine powders of (Hf1-xZrx)B2 solid solution were synthesized by two methods. In the first one, solution-based processing of HfCl4, ZrCl4, sucrose and H3BO3 was carried out followed by heat treatment (e.g., at 1500 °C for 1 h) in Argon to achieve the carbothermal reduction (CTR) reaction to form the boride solid solution. In the second one, called boron hydride reduction (BHR) method, HfCl4, ZrCl4 and NaBH4 were directly mixed in a glove box followed by heat treatment in Argon at elevated temperatures from 700 to 1500 °C. In addition, the powders synthesized via both methods were flash sintered without sample preheating in a homemade setup. The synthesized powders as well as the flash sintered bulk ceramics were characterized using different techniques including XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM, TGA-DSC, and Vickers hardness test to reveal the inter-relationships between starting materials composition, processing conditions, and the resulting materials microstructure and physical/chemical properties.

Belisario, Jose↗

Synthesis of americium trichloride via chlorination of americium oxide using zirconium tetrachloride in LiCl-KCl molten salt

To better inform electrorefining operations of used nuclear fuel, a fundamental understanding of the electrochemical properties of each actinide in the molten salt electrolyte is needed. Access to actinide chlorides is thus required to support measurement of these properties. In this work, we synthesized americium trichloride through a novel pathway comprising chlorination of Am2O3 with ZrCl4 in a LiCl-KCl molten salt at 500 degrees C. The formation of AmCl3 was confirmed by cyclic voltammetry and gamma spectroscopy. This chlorination method does not produce mixed hazardous-radioactive waste and the byproduct, ZrO2, is not electrochemically active and does not affect the actinide electrodeposition reaction.

actinide chloride synthesis↗

Advanced Low-Temperature Chlorination of Zirconium

Recovery of Zr from nuclear fuel is of high interest because the Zr cladding material comprises up to 50% of the high-level radioactive waste (HLW) that requires disposition. An ideal Zr-recovery process would not only recover the bulk Zr from the fuel or cladding but would also provide decontamination from the components that give rise to the HLW designation. A simplified decontamination pathway providing recovered Zr in compliance with low-level radioactive waste acceptance criteria could significantly reduce the burden of HLW requiring geologic disposition. A newly developed advanced low-temperature chlorination process presents an opportunity to recover a ZrCl4 product that is effectively decontaminated from the elements of concern. This advanced low-temperature chlorination process uses a mixture of the sulfur-containing chlorination compounds sulfur monochloride (S 2 Cl 2 ) and thionyl chloride (SOCl 2 ).

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

The Evaluation of (1R,4R,7R,10R)-α,α′,α″,α‴-Tetramethyl-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic Acid (DOTMA) as a Chelator for Zirconium-89

Recently, macrocycles such as 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) have been observed to form zirconium-89 (89Zr: t½ = 78.4 h, β+: 22.8%, Eβ+max = 901 keV; EC: 77%, Eγ = 909 keV)-complexes with excellent in vivo stability. In this report, we describe (1R,4R,7R,10R)-α,α′,α″,α‴-tetramethyl-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTMA) as an 89Zr chelator. Using [89Zr]ZrCl4, [89Zr]Zr-DOTMA was prepared in 99% radiochemical yield and a molar activity of 1055 ± 6 MBq/µmol. In vitro studies revealed a LogP value of −2.97± 0.02 and a radiometal complex that was inert when challenged with 1000-fold excess EDTA or high concentrations of biologically relevant metal ions. Finally, biodistribution studies revealed that the radiometal complex demonstrated in vivo behavior that was like [89Zr]Zr-DOTA and superior to [89Zr]Zr-DFO. Despite these promising observations, the elevated temperature required to form the [89Zr]Zr-DOTMA complex and the lack of derivatives available for bioconjugation will require additional ligand engineering to improve its utility for future nuclear medicine applications.

Pandya, Darpan N. [Department of Radiology, Univer↗

In Situ Spectroscopic Monitoring of MSR Molten Salt and Off-Gas Systems

A significant challenge that must be overcome before commercialization of molten salt reactors is tracking special nuclear material (SNM) through the reactor and subsystems such as fuel chemical processing and off-gas systems. In recent years, several approaches have been explored to track SNM, fission products, and corrosion products in these different subsystems. One such approach is to employ laser and optical spectroscopy to measure the atomic and molecular signals of MSR salts. The advantages of these approaches are that they typically are non-intrusive and offer the capability of process monitoring while still providing low uncertainties. At the Idaho National Laboratory, spectroscopy approaches such as laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy have been utilized to investigate molten salts in an aerosol (LiCl, KCl, RbCl2, NdCl3, and PrCl3) and vapor phases (MgCl5, NdCl5, and ZrCl4) with success. Testing to date has yielded qualitative information on all the above species and quantitative data and analytical figures of merit for species in the vapor phases. These findings, including results from ongoing testing, as well as the experimental conditions and potential applications will be presented.

98 - NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL↗

Recovery of Zr from ZrCl 4 by Electrolysis in Fused Salts and Ionic Liquids: Literature Review and Test Plan

This report reviewed the current status on the research and development of Zr electrodeposition in high temperature molten salts and room temperature ionic liquids from ZrCl 4 , which is the product of the chlorination process developed for recycling the Zr claddings of the spent nuclear fuels. Due to the pyrophoricity issue, the Zr metal product from the electrodeposition process is desired to be of coarse, dense crystalline or plates (instead of powder or loose, fine crystals) that are not to be easily oxidized. The findings based on the literature review are included in the report.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗