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Electrochemical behavior of uranium(III) in NaCl–KCl molten salt

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Abstract

The electro-redox behavior of uranium(III) on Mo electrode in NaCl–KCl molten salt in the temperature range 973–1073 K has been investigated using cyclic voltammetry electrochemical method and so on, such research will help to understand uranium behavior in pyro-reprocessing. The results showed that UCl3 could be reduced into uranium metal in a quasi-reversible one-step process exchanging three electrons. The diffusion coefficients of U(III) ions were determined and the activation energy for diffusion was found to be 55.794 kJ mol−1. The apparent standard potentials of U(III)/U(0) at several temperatures were calculated. The thermodynamic properties of UCl3 have also been investigated.

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Acknowledgements

Many appreciate to the support of The National Natural Science Fund.

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Correspondence to Jia YanHong.

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YanHong, J., Hui, H., Hui, C. et al. Electrochemical behavior of uranium(III) in NaCl–KCl molten salt. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 311, 1763–1770 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-016-5131-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-016-5131-8

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