Purification of Uranium Tetrafluoride Using Ammonium Bifluoride

Author(s)

Kyle R. Foster
Juliano Schorne-Pinto
Ronald E. Booth, Molinaroli College of Engineering and ComputingFollow
Annabelle Husek
Mina Aziziha, Molinaroli College of Engineering and ComputingFollow
Hunter B. Tisdale, University of South CarolinaFollow
Bernie W.N. Fitzpatrick
Hans Conrad zur Loye, University of South CarolinaFollow
Markus H.A. Piro
Theodore M. Besmann, University of South CarolinaFollow

Document Type

Article

Abstract

A method of purification for UF₄ utilizing NH₄HF₂ was investigated to remove oxygen and hydrate impurities from the salt. The original salt exhibited a melting point at 915–920 °C, which corresponds to the eutectic temperature of the UF4-UO2 system, showing clear signs of oxygen contamination. To purify the salt, an air-tight reaction vessel inside an argon glovebox was used to react UF4/NH4HF2 mixtures at elevated temperatures under a continuous flow of inert gas. The process yielded a significantly purer UF4 salt as confirmed via inert gas fusion, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluchem.2025.110449

Publication Info

Published in Journal of Fluorine Chemistry, 2025.

Rights

© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

APA Citation

Foster, K. R., Schorne-Pinto, J., Booth, R. E., Husek, A., Aziziha, M., Tisdale, H. B., Fitzpatrick, B. W. N., zur Loye, H.-C., Piro, M. H. A., & Besmann, T. M. (2025). Purification of uranium tetrafluoride using ammonium bifluoride. Journal of Fluorine Chemistry, 285-286, 110449.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluchem.2025.110449