XPS of PuO2 and Pu2O3 formed by O2 oxidation of plutonium metal

2025/12/01 by L. Jolly · 1 voice
Engineering · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Nuclear Materials and Properties #Nuclear reactor physics and engineering #Rare-earth and actinide compounds

paper · doi:10.1116/6.0004992

openalex publication_date 2025/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/12/03 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21

Abstract

Plutonium metal oxidizes by forming an oxide layer on the surface. This oxide layer consists on Pu2O3 and PuO2. Photoelectron spectroscopy allows us to evaluate the growth kinetics of both oxides. A metal surface of a PuGa1 at. %, free of contamination, was prepared and oxidized by O2 exposures at ambient temperature. The Pu 4f core level exhibits clearly the progress of the formation of the different oxidation states as a function of exposure time.

Citations

• Systematic and collaborative approach to problem solving using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
• XPS of surface film of PuO2 on Pu2O3 with Mg Kα

Discussions

• Plutonium is an extremely difficult element to handle, but through XPS data, Dr. Lionel Jolly of CEA France provides a beautiful illustration of the oxidation process at the surface of plutonium, show [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]