PNNL

Abstract

Several mesoporous titanium phosphate phases, with varying pore sizes, were prepared using non-ionic surfactants and easily handled titanium precursors under mild reaction conditions. Preliminary testing reveals that these materials have high affinity for certain radionuclides of environmental concern. Significant amounts of radioactive waste have built up over the last half century as the result of nuclear weapons production and the accumulation of spent nuclear fuel. Ultimately, after processing, this waste is targeted to be buried in a deep geological repository. One plan is to include “getter materials” in with this waste in order to sequester any radionuclides that might leak from the wasteforms. Of particular interest in this regard are the long-lived actinide species (e.g. Pu, Am, Np, etc.) and the anions (e.g. pertechnetate, iodide, etc.). These getter materials must be able to survive long-term exposure to elevated temperatures (>150°C) and moderately high radiation fluxes. Due to their frailty towards radiolytic degradation, organic components cannot be used for either structure or function in the final getter material.