Etude de la reactivite du dioxyde d'uranium monocristallin vis-a-vis des processus de dissolution en milieu acide cinetique et reactivite aux interfaces.

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Dynamic aspects of cerium dioxide sintering: HT-ESEM study of grain growth and pore elimination

International audienceSintering of CeO2 is studied in situ by high temperature scanning environmental microscopy (HT-ESEM) at T = 1400 °C. The morphological modifications of a single grains population are recorded for 6 h. Kinetic parameters are extracted from image series. The local grain growth determined from the single population studied in situ is compared to the general grain growth obtained by classical ex situ technique. Using HT-ESEM for sintering study is validated. The grain boundary velocities range between 0 and 5 μm h−1, with a mean value of about 1 μm h−1. The migration of the intragranular surface pores is described. Their velocities range between 0.4 and 1.2 μm h−1 and depend on pore diameters: the smaller the pore, the faster the pore velocity. The time required to fill a pore that arises at the sample surface is determined as a function of pore diameter. The time for pore elimination dependence with the pore diameters is also established

Giant radiolytic dissolution rates of aqueous ceria observed in-situ by liquid-cell TEM

Dynamics of cerium oxide nanoparticle aqueous corrosion are revealed in-situ. We use innovative liquid-cell transmission electron microscopy (TEM) combined with deliberate high-intensity electron-beam irradiation of nanoparticle suspensions. This enables life video-recording of materials reactions in liquid, with nm-resolution. We introduce image-quantification to measure detailed rates of dissolution as a function of time and particle size to be compared with literature data. Giant dissolution rates, exceeding any previous reports for chemical dissolution rates at room temperature by many orders of magnitude, are discovered. Reasons for accelerated dissolution are outlined, including the importance of radiolysis of water preceding ceria-attack. Electron-water interaction generates radicals, ions and hydrated electrons, which assist in hydration and reductive dissolution of oxide minerals. The presented methodology has the potential to become a novel accelerated testing procedure to compare multiple nanoscale materials for relative aqueous durability. The ceria-water system is of crucial importance for the fields of catalysis, abrasive polishing, environmental remediation, and as simulant for actinide-oxide behaviour in contact with liquid for nuclear engineering

Contribution of Energetically Reactive Surface Features to the Dissolution of CeO2 and ThO2 Analogues for Spent Nuclear Fuel Microstructures

In the safety case for the geological disposal of nuclear waste, the release of radioactivity from the repository is controlled by the dissolution of the spent fuel in groundwater. There remain several uncertainties associated with understanding spent fuel dissolution, including the contribution of energetically reactive surface sites to the dissolution rate. In this study, we investigate how surface features influence the dissolution rate of synthetic CeO2 and ThO2, spent nuclear fuel analogues that approximate as closely as possible the microstructure characteristics of fuel-grade UO2 but are not sensitive to changes in oxidation state of the cation. The morphology of grain boundaries (natural features) and surface facets (specimen preparation-induced features) was investigated during dissolution. The effects of surface polishing on dissolution rate were also investigated. We show that preferential dissolution occurs at grain boundaries, resulting in grain boundary decohesion and enhanced dissolution rates. A strong crystallographic control was exerted, with high misorientation angle grain boundaries retreating more rapidly than those with low misorientation angles, which may be due to the accommodation of defects in the grain boundary structure. The data from these simplified analogue systems support the hypothesis that grain boundaries play a role in the so-called “instant release fraction” of spent fuel, and should be carefully considered, in conjunction with other chemical effects, in safety performance assessements for the geological disposal of spent fuel. Surface facets formed during the sample annealing process also exhibited a strong crystallographic control and were found to dissolve rapidly on initial contact with dissolution medium. Defects and strain induced during sample polishing caused an overestimation of the dissolution rate, by up to 3 orders of magnitude

From Knowing to Remembering: the Semantic-Episodic distinction

The distinction between episodic and semantic memory was proposed in 1972 by Endel Tulving and is still of central importance in Cognitive Neuroscience today. Data obtained in the last 30 years or so, however, support the idea that the frontiers between perception and knowledge and between episodic and semantic memory are not as clear cut as previously thought, prompting a rethinking of the episodic-semantic distinction. Here, we review recent research on episodic and semantic memory, highlighting similarities between the two systems. Taken together, current behavioral, neuropsychological and neuroimaging data are compatible with the idea that episodic and semantic memory are inextricably intertwined, yet retain a measure of distinctiveness, despite the fact that their neural correlates demonstrate considerable overlap

Betrachtungen über die Wunderwerke des Evangeliums : Zur Beantwortung der Schwierigkeiten, die J. J. Rosseau dawider erreget hat

Aus dem Französischen des Herrn ClaparedeAutopsie nach Exemplar der ULB Sachsen-AnhaltVorlageform des Erscheinungsvermerks: Frankfurt am Mayn. Gedruckt und zu finden bey Johannes Bayrhoffer.1774

XX.— On Actinophrys Sol.

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