Comparison of Pu-242 colloids and a mixture of Pu-242 and Pu-238 colloids in their structure and influence of radiolysis on stability

Due to the complex aqueous chemistry, plutonium is possible to form a wide variety of species. Plutonium colloids and their behaviour is of major concern for the safety assessment of nuclear waste repositories. In previous publications, different structures and an unexpected behaviour of the colloids during ageing were observed. The aged colloids showed structural changes in the form of disorder and changes in size. These observations were attributed to alpha radiation and recoil. Experiments will be conducted to investigate this hypothesis. Pu-242 colloids are prepared in three background media (HCl, HNO3 and HClO4) with different Pu concentrations to establish structural differences. In order to determine the influence of radiolysis on the structural changes of the colloids, the alpha activity is increased by adding Pu-238.