Uranium tetrafluoride

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Uranium tetrafluoride
Kristallstruktur Uran(IV)-fluorid.png
Names
IUPAC names
Uranium(IV) fluoride
Uranium tetrafluoride
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.030.142 OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
EC Number
  • 233-170-1
PubChem CID
UNII
  • InChI=1S/4FH.2U/h4*1H;;/q;;;;2*+2/p-4 Yes check.svgY
    Key: CWWZGQYYTNZESQ-UHFFFAOYSA-J Yes check.svgY
  • InChI=1/4FH.2U/h4*1H;;/q;;;;2*+2/p-4
    Key: CWWZGQYYTNZESQ-XBHQNQODAW
  • F[U](F)(F)F
Properties
UF4
Molar mass 314.02 g/mol
AppearanceGreen crystalline solid
Density 6.70 g/cm3, solid
Melting point 1,036 °C (1,897 °F; 1,309 K)
Boiling point 1,417 °C (2,583 °F; 1,690 K)
Insoluble
Structure
Monoclinic, mS60
C2/c, No. 15
Hazards
GHS labelling:
GHS-pictogram-skull.svg GHS-pictogram-silhouette.svg GHS-pictogram-pollu.svg
Danger
H300, H330, H373, H411
Flash point Non-flammable
Safety data sheet (SDS) External MSDS
Related compounds
Other anions
Uranium(IV) chloride
Uranium(IV) bromide
Uranium(IV) iodide
Uranium dioxide
Other cations
Praseodymium(IV) fluoride
Thorium(IV) fluoride
Protactinium(IV) fluoride
Neptunium(IV) fluoride
Plutonium(IV) fluoride
Related compounds
Uranium hexafluoride
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
X mark.svgN  verify  (what is  Yes check.svgYX mark.svgN ?)

Uranium tetrafluoride is the inorganic compound with the formula UF4. It is a green solid with an insignificant vapor pressure and low solubility in water. Uranium in its tetravalent (uranous) state is important in various technological processes. In the uranium refining industry it is known as green salt. [1]

Contents

Production

UF4 is prepared from UO2 in a fluidized bed by reaction with HF. The UO2 is derived from mining operations. Around 60,000 tonnes per year are prepared in this way annually. A common impurity is UO2F2. UF4 is susceptible to hydrolysis as well. [1]

UF4 is formed by the reaction of UF6 with hydrogen gas in a vertical tube-type reactor. UF4 is less stable than the uranium oxides and reacts slowly with moisture at ambient temperature, forming UO2 and HF, the latter of which is very corrosive and toxic; it is thus less favourable for long-term disposal. The bulk density of UF4 varies from about 2.0 g/cm3 to about 4.5 g/cm3 depending on the production process and the properties of the starting uranium compounds.

A molten salt reactor design, a type of nuclear reactor where the working fluid is a molten salt, would use UF4 as the core material. UF4 is generally chosen over other salts because of the usefulness of the elements without isotope separation, better neutron economy and moderating efficiency, lower vapor pressure and better chemical stability.

Reactions

Uranium tetrafluoride reacts with fluorine, first to give uranium pentafluoride and then volatile UF6:

2 UF4 + F2 → 2 UF5
2 UF5 + F2 → 2 UF6

UF4 is reduced by magnesium to give the metal: [2]

UF4 + 2 Mg → U + 2 MgF2

It is oxidized to UF5 at room temperature and then, at 100 °C, to the hexafluoride.

Structure

Like most metal fluorides, UF4 is a dense highly crosslinked inorganic polymer. As established by X-ray crystallography, the U centres are eight-coordinate with square antiprismatic coordination spheres. The fluoride centres are doubly bridging. [2] [3]

Safety

Like all uranium salts, UF4 is toxic and thus harmful by inhalation, ingestion, and through skin contact.

Uranium tetrafluoride Uranium tetrafluoride.jpg
Uranium tetrafluoride

See also

References of historical interest

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uranium hexafluoride</span> Chemical compound

Uranium hexafluoride, sometimes called hex, is an inorganic compound with the formula UF6. Uranium hexafluoride is a volatile white solid that reacts with water, releasing corrosive hydrofluoric acid. The compound reacts mildly with aluminium, forming a thin surface layer of AlF3 that resists any further reaction from the compound. UF6 is used in the process of enriching uranium, which produces fuel for nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tungsten hexafluoride</span> Chemical compound

Tungsten(VI) fluoride, also known as tungsten hexafluoride, is an inorganic compound with the formula WF6. It is a toxic, corrosive, colorless gas, with a density of about 13 kg/m3 (22 lb/cu yd). It is one of the densest known gases under standard conditions. WF6 is commonly used by the semiconductor industry to form tungsten films, through the process of chemical vapor deposition. This layer is used in a low-resistivity metallic "interconnect". It is one of seventeen known binary hexafluorides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beryllium fluoride</span> Chemical compound

Beryllium fluoride is the inorganic compound with the formula BeF2. This white solid is the principal precursor for the manufacture of beryllium metal. Its structure resembles that of quartz, but BeF2 is highly soluble in water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bromine pentafluoride</span> Chemical compound

Bromine pentafluoride, BrF5, is an interhalogen compound and a fluoride of bromine. It is a strong fluorinating agent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FLiNaK</span>

FLiNaK is the name of the ternary eutectic alkaline metal fluoride salt mixture LiF-NaF-KF (46.5-11.5-42 mol %). It has a melting point of 454 °C and a boiling point of 1570 °C. It is used as electrolyte for the electroplating of refractory metals and compounds like titanium, tantalum, hafnium, zirconium and their borides. FLiNaK also could see potential use as a coolant in the very high temperature reactor, a type of nuclear reactor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithium fluoride</span> Chemical compound

Lithium fluoride is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula LiF. It is a colorless solid that transitions to white with decreasing crystal size. Although odorless, lithium fluoride has a bitter-saline taste. Its structure is analogous to that of sodium chloride, but it is much less soluble in water. It is mainly used as a component of molten salts. Partly because Li and F are both light elements, and partly because F2 is highly reactive, formation of LiF from the elements releases one of the highest energies per mass of reactants, second only to that of BeO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrogen fluoride</span> Chemical compound

Hydrogen fluoride (fluorane) is an inorganic compound with chemical formula HF. It is a very poisonous, colorless gas or liquid that dissolves in water to yield an aqueous solution termed hydrofluoric acid. It is the principal industrial source of fluorine, often in the form of hydrofluoric acid, and is an important feedstock in the preparation of many important compounds including pharmaceuticals and polymers, e.g. polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). HF is also widely used in the petrochemical industry as a component of superacids. Due to strong and extensive hydrogen bonding, it boils at near room temperature, much higher than other hydrogen halides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hexafluorosilicic acid</span> Octahedric silicon compound

Hexafluorosilicic acid is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula H
2
SiF
6
. Aqueous solutions of hexafluorosilicic acid consist of salts of the cation and hexafluorosilicate anion. These salts and their aqueous solutions are colorless.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uranium pentafluoride</span> Chemical compound

Uranium pentafluoride is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula UF5. It is a pale yellow paramagnetic solid. The compound has attracted interest because it is related to uranium hexafluoride, which is widely used to produce uranium fuel. It crystallizes in two polymorphs, called α- and β-UF5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zirconium tetrafluoride</span> Chemical compound

Zirconium(IV) fluoride describes members of a family inorganic compounds with the formula (ZrF4(H2O)x. All are colorless, diamagnetic solids. Anhydrous Zirconium(IV) fluoride' is a component of ZBLAN fluoride glass.

Uranium compounds are compounds formed by the element uranium (U). Although uranium is a radioactive actinide, its compounds are well studied due to its long half-life and its applications. It usually forms in the +4 and +6 oxidation states, although it can also form in other oxidation states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molten-Salt Reactor Experiment</span> Nuclear reactor, Oak Ridge 1965–1969

The Molten-Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE) was an experimental molten salt reactor research reactor at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). This technology was researched through the 1960s, the reactor was constructed by 1964, it went critical in 1965, and was operated until 1969. The costs of a cleanup project were estimated at about $130 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manganese(IV) fluoride</span> Chemical compound

Manganese tetrafluoride, MnF4, is the highest fluoride of manganese. It is a powerful oxidizing agent and is used as a means of purifying elemental fluorine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fernald Feed Materials Production Center</span> Uranium fuel factory in the United States

The Fernald Feed Materials Production Center is a Superfund site located within Crosby Township in Hamilton County, Ohio, as well as Ross Township in Butler County, Ohio, in the United States. It was a uranium processing facility located near the rural town of New Baltimore, about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Cincinnati, which fabricated uranium fuel cores for the U.S. nuclear weapons production complex from 1951 to 1989. During that time, the plant produced 170,000 metric tons uranium (MTU) of metal products and 35,000 MTU of intermediate compounds, such as uranium trioxide and uranium tetrafluoride.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plutonium hexafluoride</span> Chemical compound

Plutonium hexafluoride is the highest fluoride of plutonium, and is of interest for laser enrichment of plutonium, in particular for the production of pure plutonium-239 from irradiated uranium. This isotope of plutonium is needed to avoid premature ignition of low-mass nuclear weapon designs by neutrons produced by spontaneous fission of plutonium-240.

A hexafluoride is a chemical compound with the general formula QXnF6, QXnF6m−, or QXnF6m+. Many molecules fit this formula. An important hexafluoride is hexafluorosilicic acid (H2SiF6), which is a byproduct of the mining of phosphate rock. In the nuclear industry, uranium hexafluoride (UF6) is an important intermediate in the purification of this element.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FLiBe</span> Chemical compound

FLiBe is the name of a molten salt made from a mixture of lithium fluoride (LiF) and beryllium fluoride. It is both a nuclear reactor coolant and solvent for fertile or fissile material. It served both purposes in the Molten-Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Germanium tetrafluoride</span> Chemical compound

Germanium tetrafluoride (GeF4) is a chemical compound of germanium and fluorine. It is a colorless gas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neptunium(VI) fluoride</span> Chemical compound

Neptunium(VI) fluoride (NpF6) is the highest fluoride of neptunium, it is also one of seventeen known binary hexafluorides. It is an orange volatile crystalline solid. It is relatively hard to handle, being very corrosive, volatile and radioactive. Neptunium hexafluoride is stable in dry air but reacts vigorously with water.

Depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUHF; also referred to as depleted uranium tails, depleted uranium tailings or DUF6) is a byproduct of the processing of uranium hexafluoride into enriched uranium. It is one of the chemical forms of depleted uranium (up to 73-75%), along with depleted triuranium octoxide (up to 25%) and depleted uranium metal (up to 2%). DUHF is 1.7 times less radioactive than uranium hexafluoride and natural uranium.

References

  1. 1 2 Peehs, Martin; Walter, Thomas; Walter, Sabine; Zemek, Martin (2007). "Uranium, Uranium Alloys, and Uranium Compounds". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry . Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.a27_281.pub2.
  2. 1 2 Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN   978-0-08-037941-8.
  3. Kern, S.; Hayward, J.; Roberts, S.; Richardson, J. W.; Rotella, F. J.; Soderholm, L.; Cort, B.; Tinkle, M.; West, M.; Hoisington, D.; Lander, G. A. (1994). "Temperature Variation of the Structural Parameters in Actinide Tetrafluorides". The Journal of Chemical Physics. 101 (11): 9333–9337. Bibcode:1994JChPh.101.9333K. doi:10.1063/1.467963.