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Hydride Mapping in Uranium Using MLLS Fitting of Electron Energy-Loss Spectra

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Abstract

Previous studies of the reaction of hydrogen gas with uranium metal have been mainly limited to microscale or higher observations of uranium surfaces. We have characterized subsurface features of uranium hydride structures formed in a depleted uranium pellet aged for over 9 years under a controlled atmosphere with an initial H2 partial pressure of 0.667 kPa (5 torr) using electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS), giving information at lower length scales than previously reported. We demonstrate that multiple linear least-squares fitting of the O4,5 edge of the uranium EEL spectrum, with input spectra generated from the dataset being analyzed, can be used to map hydride and metal phases in aged uranium metal at the nanometer scale. While the interface between the bulk metal and the subsurface hydride structures is sharp and well defined, the interior of the reacted region is heterogeneous, containing a mix of polycrystalline UH3 and stranded, apparently unreacted, U metal.

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Acknowledgements

Research presented in this article was supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program of Los Alamos National Laboratory under Project No. 20180295ER. M.T.J. thanks Colin Ophus (NCEM) and Benjamin Miller (Gatan, Inc.) for discussions related to Python and the general viability of MLLS fitting of EELS data, respectively. Los Alamos National Laboratory, an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer, is managed by Triad National Security, LLC, for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the US Department of Energy under Contract 89233218CNA000001.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuclear Materials Science Group, Materials Science and Technology Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, USA

    Matthew T. Janish & Terry G. Holesinger

  2. Materials Science in Radiation and Dynamics Extremes Group, Materials Science and Technology Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, USA

    Matthew M. Schneider

  3. Finishing Manufacturing Science Group, Manufacturing Science Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, USA

    Edward F. Holby & Andrew W. Richards

  4. Weapon Systems Surveillance Group, Weapon Systems Engineering Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, USA

    Roland K. Schulze

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  1. Matthew T. Janish
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Correspondence to Matthew T. Janish.

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Janish, M.T., Schneider, M.M., Holby, E.F. et al. Hydride Mapping in Uranium Using MLLS Fitting of Electron Energy-Loss Spectra. JOM 72, 2096–2103 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-020-04128-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-020-04128-1

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