Search

Accelerator driven fast nuclear reactors cooled by lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) are developed for transmuting long-lived radionuclides in spent nuclear fuel. Due to the nature of the coolant, operating the reactor will result in a production of 210 Po by neutron capture. Understanding the behavior of this highly radiotoxic nuclide in the event of a failure of the window separating the evacuated proton beam guide from the reactor core is required for safety assessments. The present work aims at acquiring this knowledge by studying the evaporation of polonium from neutron-irradiated LBE and its deposition in a scaled down model of the beam tube. Experimental results along with Monte Carlo simulations indicate that polonium adsorbs as a single species with an adsorption enthalpy of approximately -156 kJ/mol., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Heavy liquid metals such as lead and lead bismuth eutectic (LBE) are considered as spallation target material for next-generation neutron sources and as coolant of fast spectrum nuclear reactors that are developed to facilitate more efficient use of nuclear fuel as well as transmutation of long-lived nuclear waste. During the operation of such facilities, the heavy liquid metal will be activated by nuclear reactions. Additionally, fission product radionuclides may be introduced into the liquid metal from leaking fuel pins or by fission of the target nuclei in spallation. The chemical behaviour of these radioactive contaminants in the liquid metal - especially their immediate volatilization or volatilization of formed secondary compounds - may affect the safety of such facilities. The present article summarizes the activities of PSI's Laboratory of Radiochemistry towards a better understanding of the chemistry of potentially hazardous radionuclides in LBE and discusses aspects that need to be addressed in future to support the licensing of heavy liquid metal-based nuclear facilities.

Fission and fusion reactors can only play a role in the future energy landscape if they are inherently safe by design. For some reactor concepts, a major remaining issue is the undesired production of radiotoxic 210 Po. To filter out the volatile Po species, information on their molecular composition is needed. An experimental characterization is very challenging due to the large required amount of radioactive Po. An alternative quantum chemistry approach was taken to predict the temperature-dependent stability of relevant diatomic Po-containing molecules. Experimental data on lighter analogue molecules was used to establish a well-founded methodology. The relative occurrence of the Po species was estimated in the cover gas of (i) the lead-bismuth eutectic coolant in the accelerator-driven MYRRHA fission reactor and (ii) the Pb-Li eutectic tritium breeder in the DEMO fusion reactor. In both systems, Po is found to occur mainly as PbPo molecules and atomic Po.

Various types of proton-irradiated lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) samples from the MEGAPIE prototype spallation target were analyzed concerning their content of (148)Gd, (173)Lu, and (146)Pm by use of α- and γ-spectrometry. A radiochemical separation procedure was developed to isolate the lanthanide fraction and to prepare thin samples for α-ray measurement. The results prove a substantial depletion of these three elements in bulk samples, whereas accumulation on the LBE/steel-interfaces was observed. The amount of material accumulated on surfaces was roughly estimated by relating the values measured on the sample surfaces to the total surface of the inner target walls. The amount of (148)Gd, (173)Lu, and (146)Pm was then quantified by summing up the contributions from every sample type. The results show a reasonable agreement with theoretical predictions. The obtained results are of utmost importance for the evaluation of the performance of high-power spallation targets, especially concerning the residual nuclide production, the physicochemical behavior of the produced radionuclides during operation, and in terms of an intermediate or final disposal.

Observations of galactic gamma-ray activity have challenged the current understanding of nucleosynthesis in massive stars. Recent measurements of (60)Fe abundances relative to ;{26}Al;{g} have underscored the need for accurate nuclear information concerning the stellar production of (60)Fe. In light of this motivation, a first measurement of the stellar (60)Fe(n, gamma)(61)Fe cross section, the predominant destruction mechanism of (60)Fe, has been performed by activation at the Karlsruhe Van de Graaff accelerator. Results show a Maxwellian averaged cross section at kT = 25 keV of 9.9 +/-_{1.4(stat)};{2.8(syst)}mbarn, a significant reduction in uncertainty with respect to existing theoretical discrepancies. This result will serve to significantly constrain models of (60)Fe nucleosynthesis in massive stars.

The bonding of N(2) to the five-coordinate complexes [FeX(depe)(2)](+), X = Cl (1a) and Br (1b), has been investigated with the help of X-ray crystallography, spectroscopy, and quantum-chemical calculations. Complexes 1a and 1b are found to have an XP(4) coordination that is intermediate between square-pyramidal and trigonal-bipyramidal. Mössbauer and optical absorption spectroscopy coupled with angular overlap model (AOM) calculations reveal that 1a and 1b have (3)B(1) ground states deriving from a (xz)(1)(z(2))(1) configuration. The zero-field splitting for this state is found to be 30-35 cm(-1). In contrast, the analogous dinitrogen complexes [FeX(N(2))(depe)(2)](+), X = Cl (2a) and Br (2b), characterized earlier are low-spin (S = 0; Wiesler, B. E.; Lehnert, N.; Tuczek, F.; Neuhausen, J.; Tremel, W. Angew. Chem, Int. Ed. 1998, 37, 815-817). N(2) bonding and release in these systems are thus spin-forbidden. It is shown by density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the chloro complex that the crossing from the singlet state (ground state of 2a) to the triplet state (ground state of 1a) along the Fe-N coordinate occurs at r(C) = 2.4 A. Importantly, this intersystem crossing lowers the enthalpy calculated for N(2) release by 10-18 kcal/mol. The free reaction enthalpy Delta G degrees for this process is calculated to be 4.7 kcal/mol, which explains the thermal instability of N(2) complex 2a with respect to the loss of N(2). The differences in reactivity of analogous trans hydrido systems are discussed.

Not a dimer but a monomer was found in the X-ray structure analysis of the complex "trans-[{FeCl(depe) 2 } 2 (µ-N 2 )](BPh 4 ) 2 " (depe=Et 2 PCH 2 CH 2 PEt 2 ). The complexes [FeXN 2 (depe) 2 ]BPh 4 (X=Cl, Br; structure of the cation for X=Cl shown on the right) are much less stable than the analogous hydride compounds and undergo N 2 exchange at room temperature even in the solid state., (© 1998 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH, Weinheim, Fed. Rep. of Germany.)

Phases of composition Nb(x)()Ru(6)(-)(x)()Te(8) were prepared by reacting stoichiometric mixtures of the elements at high temperature in evacuated silica ampules. The structure of Nb(3.33)Ru(2.67)Te(8) was refined from X-ray powder data using the Rietveld method. Nb(3.33)Ru(2.67)Te(8) crystallizes isotypic with Mo(6)Q(8) (Q = S, Se, Te) in the rhombohedral space group R&thremacr; with the hexagonal lattice parameters a = 10.34106(5) Å, c = 11.47953(7) Å, and Z = 3. Its structure consists of M(6)Te(8) mixed-metal clusters (M = Nb, Ru) which are connected by intercluster M-Te bonds to form a three-dimensional network. Metal-metal bonding in these phases is analyzed in terms of Pauling bond orders and found to be weaker compared to that in related cluster compounds. Nb(x)()Ru(6)(-)(x)()Te(8) are the first representatives of Chevrel-type cluster phases with complete substitution of Mo by other metals. The chemical perspectives arising from this substitution are discussed.