From uranothorites to coffinite: a solid solution route to the thermodynamic properties of USiO4.

Experiments on the solubility of intermediate members of the Th(1-x)U(x)SiO4 solid solution were carried out to determine the impact of Th-U substitutions on the thermodynamic properties of the solid solution and then allow extrapolation to the coffinite end member. The ion activity products in solutions equilibrated with Th(1-x)U(x)SiO4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) were determined by dissolution experiments conducted in 0.1 mol·L(-1) HCl under Ar atmosphere at several temperatures ranging from 298 to 346 K. For all experiments, dissolution was congruent, and a constant composition of the aqueous solution was reached after 50-200 days of dissolution. The solubility product of thorite was determined (log *K(S,ThSiO4) = -5.62 ± 0.08) whereas the solubility product of coffinite was estimated (log *K(S,USiO4) = -6.1 ± 0.2). The stoichiometric solubility product of Th(1-x)U(x)SiO4 reached a maximum value for x = 0.45 ± 0.05. In terms of the standard Gibbs free energy of dissolution, solid solutions dissolve more spontaneously than the end members. The standard Gibbs free energy associated with the formation of thorite, coffinite, and intermediate members of the series were then evaluated. The standard Gibbs free energies of formation were found to increase linearly with the uranium mole fraction. Our data at low temperature clearly show that uranothorite solid solutions with x > 0.26, thus coffinite, are less stable than the mixture of binary oxides, which is consistent with qualitative evidence from petrographic studies of uranium ore deposits.

Polarizable interaction potential for molecular dynamics simulations of actinoids(III) in liquid water.

In this work, we have developed a polarizable classical interaction potential to study actinoids(III) in liquid water. This potential has the same analytical form as was recently used for lanthanoid(III) hydration [M. Duvail, P. Vitorge, and R. Spezia, J. Chem. Phys. 130, 104501 (2009)]. The hydration structure obtained with this potential is in good agreement with the experimentally measured ion-water distances and coordination numbers for the first half of the actinoid series. In particular, the almost linearly decreasing water-ion distance found experimentally is replicated within the calculations, in agreement with the actinoid contraction behavior. We also studied the hydration of the last part of the series, for which no structural experimental data are available, which allows us to provide some predictive insights on these ions. In particular we found that the ion-water distance decreases almost linearly across the series with a smooth decrease of coordination number from nine to eight at the end.

Revised ionic radii of lanthanoid(III) ions in aqueous solution.

A new set of ionic radii in aqueous solution has been derived for lanthanoid(III) cations starting from a very accurate experimental determination of the ion-water distances obtained from extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) data. At variance with previous results, a very regular trend has been obtained, as expected for this series of elements. A general procedure to compute ionic radii in solution by combining the EXAFS technique and molecular dynamics (MD) structural data has been developed. This method can be applied to other ions allowing one to determine ionic radii in solution with an accuracy comparable to that of the Shannon crystal ionic radii.

Stability and instability of the isoelectronic UO2(2+) and PaO2+ actinyl oxo-cations in aqueous solution from density functional theory based molecular dynamics.

In this work, Pa(V) monocations have been studied in liquid water by means of density functional theory (DFT) based molecular dynamic simulations (CPMD) and compared with their U(VI) isoelectronic counterparts to understand the peculiar chemical behavior of Pa(V) in aqueous solution. Four different Pa(V) monocationic isomers appear to be stable in liquid water from our simulations: [PaO(2)(H(2)O)(5)](+)(aq), [Pa(OH)(4)(H(2)O)(2)](+)(aq), [PaO(OH)(2)(H(2)O)(4)](+)(aq), and [Pa(OH)(4)(H(2)O)(3)](+)(aq). On the other hand, in the case of U(VI) only the uranyl, [UO(2)(H(2)O)(5)](2)(+)(aq), is stable. The other species containing hydroxyl groups replacing one or two oxo bonds are readily converted to uranyl. The Pa-OH bond is stable, while it is suddenly broken in U-OH. This makes possible the formation of a broad variety of Pa(V) species in water and participates to its unique chemical behavior in aqueous solution. Further, the two actinyl oxocations in water are different in the ability of the oxygen atoms to form stable and extended H-bond networks for Pa(V) contrary to U(VI). In particular, protactinyl is found to have between 2 and 3 hydrogen bonds per oxygen atom while uranyl has between zero and one.

Density functional theory based molecular dynamics study of hydration and electronic properties of aqueous La(3+).

Structural and electronic properties of La(3+) immersed in bulk water have been assessed by means of density functional theory (DFT)-based Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (CPMD) simulations. Correct structural properties, i.e., La(III)-water distances and La(III) coordination number, can be obtained within the framework of Car-Parrinello simulations providing that both the La pseudopotential and conditions of the dynamics (fictitious mass and time step) are carefully set up. DFT-MD explicitly treats electronic densities and is shown here to provide a theoretical justification to the necessity of including polarization when studying highly charged cations such as lanthanoids(III) with classical MD. La(3+) was found to strongly polarize the water molecules located in the first shell, giving rise to dipole moments about 0.5 D larger than those of bulk water molecules. Finally, analyzing Kohn-Sham orbitals, we found La(3+) empty 4f orbitals extremely compact and to a great extent uncoupled from the water conduction band, while the 5d empty orbitals exhibit mixing with unoccupied states of water.

Speciation of technetium(IV) in bicarbonate media.

The technetium isotope (99)Tc is a major fission product from nuclear reactors. Ultimately it is disposed of as radioactive waste since it has few applications outside of scientific research. Geochemical modeling of the dissolution of nuclear waste and of the solubility and speciation of the dissolved radionuclides in groundwater is an important part of the Performance Assessment for the safety of nuclear waste repositories. It relies on the availability of a critically assessed thermodynamic database. The potential of the Tc(VII)/Tc(IV) redox couple is measured here under various chemical conditions to verify the stoichiometries of Tc complexes and determine their stabilities: (i) -log(10)[H(+)] in the range 7.0-10.0, for 0.3, 0.6, and 0.7 M [CO(3)](total); (ii) [CO(3)](total) in the range 0.01-0.6 M at -log(10)[H(+)] approximately 8.6; and (iii) [Tc(VII)]/[Tc(IV] ratios of (6.02 10(-5) M)/(10(-6) M) and (6.02 10(-5) M)/(6.02 10(-5) M) at -log(10)[H(+)] = -9.1 and [CO(3)](total) = 1 M. Assuming that Tc(VII), TcO(4)(-) is the only species which exists under all the above chemical conditions, the potentiometric results can be interpreted by considering the presence of two hydroxide-carbonate monomeric complexes. The hydrolysis equilibrium between these two complexes is Tc(CO(3))(OH)(2) + H(2)O <--> Tc(CO(3))(OH)(3)(-) + H(+) with -log(10)[H(+)](1/2) = 8.69 +/- 0.20, which is consistent with the -8.3 +/- 0.6 corresponding hydrolysis constant of the NEA TDB review. 733 +/- 44 mV/SHE and 575 +/- 60 mV/SHE are measured for the standard potentials of the TcO(4)(-)/Tc(CO(3))(OH)(2), and for the TcO(4)(-)/Tc(CO(3))(OH)(3)(-) redox couples respectively. The corresponding formation constants from TcO(OH)(2) are log(10)K(1,2) = 19.8 +/- 0.5 and log(10)K(1,3) = 10.5 +/- 0.5, to be compared with the 19.3 +/- 0.3 and 11.0 +/- 0.6 values proposed by the NEA TDB review. Note that these values have been converted for the formation reactions described here, thus the given values are not those of the NEA TDB review. However, Tc(CO(3))(OH)(2) is predicted to dominate over a surprisingly large range of chemical conditions. The monomeric character of the Tc(IV) complexes is verified in this study.

Trace metal speciation by capillary electrophoresis hyphenated to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry: sulfate and chloride complexes of Np(V) and Pu(V).

In the framework of nuclear waste disposal, it is very important to well understand the behavior of actinides in the presence of the common environmental inorganic ligands such as sulfate and chloride. In this work, the AnO2SO4(-) and AnO2Cl 1-1 complexes have been evidenced by capillary electrophoresis-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (CE-ICPMS) in perchlorate/chloride and in perchlorate/sulfate media for An = Np and Pu. Their binding constants have been measured: log beta(PuO2SO4(-))(0) = 1.30 +/- 0.11, log beta(PuO2Cl)(1 M NaCl) = -(0.40 +/- 0.07), log beta(NpO2SO4(-))(0) = 1.34 +/- 0.12, and log beta(NpO2Cl)(1 M NaCl) = -(0.40 +/- 0.07). These results are consistent with published values for Np(V). They confirm the expected analogy between Np(V) and Pu(V) for the weak bonding with chloride ligand, log10 beta(PuO2Cl) approximately = log10 beta(NpO2Cl), attributed to mainly electrostatic interactions. Conversely, a slight shift is observed for the bonding with sulfate ligand, log10 beta(NpO2SO4(-)) > log10 beta(PuO2SO4(-)), indicating that some covalency might stabilize the sulfate complexes.

Building a polarizable pair interaction potential for lanthanoids(III) in liquid water: a molecular dynamics study of structure and dynamics of the whole series.

In this work we have extended our previously presented polarizable pair interaction potential for La(3+)-water [Duvail et al., J. Chem. Phys. 127, 034503 (2007)] to the whole lanthanoid(III) series (Ln(3+)) interacting with water. This was performed taking into account known modification of ionic radius and atomic polarizability across the series and thus changing potential parameters according to that. Our procedure avoids the hard task of doing expensive high level ab initio calculations for all the atoms in the series and provides results in good agreement with experimental data and with ab initio calculations performed on the last atom in the series (Lu(3+), the atom for which the extrapolation should be in principle much crude). Thus we have studied the hydration properties of the whole Ln(3+) series by performing classical molecular dynamics in liquid phase. This systematic study allows us to rationalize from a microscopic point of view the different experimental results on Ln(3+)-water distances, first shell coordination numbers and first shell water self-exchange reactivity. In particular, we found that across the series the coordination number decreases from 9 for light lanthanoids to 8 for heavy lanthanoids in a continuous shape. This is due to the continuous changing in relative stability of the two forms that can be both populated at finite temperature with different probabilities as a function of the Ln(3+) atomic number. The changeover of the Ln(3+) ionic radius across the series resulted to be the main driving physical properties governing not always the Ln(3+)-water distance changing across the series but also the observed coordination number and consequently ligand dynamics.

Evidence of different stoichiometries for the limiting carbonate complexes across the lanthanide(III) series: a capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry study.

The electrophoretic mobilities (mu ep,Ln) of twelve lanthanides (not Ce, Pr and Yb) were measured by CE-ICP-MS in 0.15 and 0.5 mol L(-1) Alk2 CO3 aqueous solutions for Alk+ = Li+, Na+, K+ and Cs+. In 0.5 mol L(-1) solutions, two different mu ep,Ln values were found for the light (La to Nd) and the heavy (Dy to Tm) lanthanides, which suggests two different stoichiometries for the carbonate limiting complexes. These results are consistent with a solubility study that attests the Ln(CO3)3(3-) and Ln(CO3)4(5-) stoichiometries for the heavy (small) and the light (big) lanthanides, respectively. The Alk+ counterions influence the mu ep,Ln Alk2 CO3 values, but not the overall shape of the mu ep,Ln Alk2 CO3 plots as a function of the lanthanide atomic numbers: the counterions do not modify the stoichiometries of the inner sphere complexes. The influence of the Alk+ counterions decreases in the Li+ > Na+ >> K+ > Cs+ series. The K3,Ln stepwise formation constants of the Ln(CO3)3(3-) complexes slightly increase with the atomic numbers of the lanthanides while K4,Ln, the stepwise formation constants of Ln(CO3)4(5-) complexes, slightly decrease from La to Tb, and is no longer measurable for heavier lanthanides.

Stoichiometries and thermodynamic stabilities for aqueous sulfate complexes of U(VI).

The formation constants of UO2SO4 (aq), UO2(SO4)2(2-), and UO2(SO4)3(4-) were measured in aqueous solutions from 10 to 75 degrees C by time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS). A constant enthalpy of reaction approach was satisfactorily used to fit the thermodynamic parameters of stepwise complex formation reactions in a 0.1 M Na(+) ionic medium: log 10 K 1(25 degrees C) = 2.45 +/- 0.05, Delta r H1 = 29.1 +/- 4.0 kJ x mol(-1), log10 K2(25 degrees C) = 1.03 +/- 0.04, and Delta r H2 = 16.6 +/- 4.5 kJ x mol(-1). While the enthalpy of the UO2(SO4)2(2-) formation reaction is in good agreement with calorimetric data, that for UO2SO4 (aq) is higher than other values by a few kilojoules per mole. Incomplete knowledge of the speciation may have led to an underestimation of Delta r H1 in previous calorimetric studies. In fact, one of the published calorimetric determinations of Delta r H1 is here supported by the TRLFS results only when reinterpreted with a more correct equilibrium constant value, which shifts the fitted Delta r H1 value up by 9 kJ x mol(-1). UO2(SO 4) 3 (4-) was evidenced in a 3 M Na (+) ionic medium: log10 K3(25 degrees C) = 0.76 +/- 0.20 and Delta r H3 = 11 +/- 8 kJ x mol(-1) were obtained. The fluorescence features of the sulfate complexes were observed to depend on the ionic conditions. Changes in the coordination mode (mono- and bidentate) of the sulfate ligands may explain these observations, in line with recent structural data.

Pair interaction potentials with explicit polarization for molecular dynamics simulations of La(3+) in bulk water.

Pair interaction potentials (IPs) were defined to describe the La(3+)-OH(2) interaction for simulating the La(3+) hydration in aqueous solution. La(3+)-OH(2) IPs are taken from the literature or parametrized essentially to reproduce ab initio calculations at the second-order Moller-Plesset level of theory on La(H(2)O)(8) (3+). The IPs are compared and used with molecular dynamics (MD) including explicit polarization, periodic boundary conditions of La(H(2)O)(216) (3+) boxes, and TIP3P water model modified to include explicit polarization. As expected, explicit polarization is crucial for obtaining both correct La-O distances (r(La-O)) and La(3+) coordination number (CN). Including polarization also modifies hydration structure up to the second hydration shell and decreases the number of water exchanges between the La(3+) first and second hydration shells. r(La-O) ((1))=2.52 A and CN((1))=9.02 are obtained here for our best potential. These values are in good agreement with experimental data. The tested La-O IPs appear to essentially account for the La-O short distance repulsion. As a consequence, we propose that most of the multibody effects are correctly described by the explicit polarization contributions even in the first La(3+) hydration shell. The MD simulation results are slightly improved by adding a-typically negative 1r(6)-slightly attractive contribution to the-typically exponential-repulsive term of the La-O IP. Mean residence times are obtained from MD simulations for a water molecule in the first (1082 ps) and second (7.6 ps) hydration shells of La(3+). The corresponding water exchange is a concerted mechanism: a water molecule leaving La(H(2)O)(9) (3+) in the opposite direction to the incoming water molecule. La(H(2)O)(9) (3+) has a slightly distorded "6+3" tricapped trigonal prism D(3h) structure, and the weakest bonding is in the medium triangle, where water exchanges take place.

A coupled Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics and EXAFS data analysis investigation of aqueous Co(2+).

We have studied the microscopic solvation structure of Co(2+) in liquid water by means of density functional theory (DFT)-based Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (CPMD) simulations and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) data analysis. The effect of the number of explicit water molecules in the simulation box on the first and second hydration shell structures has been considered. Classical molecular dynamics simulations, using an effective two-body potential for Co(2+)-water interactions, were also performed to show box size effects in a larger range. We have found that the number of explicit solvent molecules has a marginal role on the first solvation shell structural parameters, whereas larger boxes may be necessary to provide a better description of the second solvation shell. Car-Parrinello simulations were determined to provide a reliable description of structural and dynamical properties of Co(2+) in liquid water. In particular, they seem to describe both the first and second hydration shells correctly. The EXAFS signal was reconstructed from Car-Parrinello simulations. Good agreement between the theoretical and experimental signals was observed, thus strengthening the microscopic picture of the Co(2+) solvation properties obtained using first-principle simulations.

Sulfate complexation of trivalent lanthanides probed by nanoelectrospray mass spectrometry and time-resolved laser-induced luminescence.

Sulfate complexation of lanthanides is of great interest for predicting speciation of radionuclides in natural environments. The formation of LaSO4+(aq) in HNO3/H2SO4 aqueous solutions of low ionic strength (I) was studied by nanoelectrospray ionization mass spectrometry (nanoESI-MS). Several gaseous species containing LaSO4+ were detected. The formation constant of LaSO4+(aq) was determined and extrapolated to I = 0 (log = 3.5 +/- 0.3) by using a simple specific ion interaction theory (SIT) formula. This value supports the potential of nanoESI-MS for the study of kinetically labile species. The species La(SO4)(2-) was also detected. In addition, time-resolved laser-induced luminescence (TRLIL) was used to study Eu(III) speciation under ionic conditions of 0.02-0.05 M H+ (H2SO4/HClO4) and 0.4-2.0 M Na+ (Na2SO4/NaClO4). The data were interpreted with the species EuSO4+ (log = 3.7(8) +/- 0.1) and Eu(SO4)(2-) (log = 1.5 +/- 0.2). For extrapolating to I = 0, all of the major ions were taken into account through several SIT ion-pair parameters, epsilon. Most of the epsilon values were estimated by analogy to known parameters for similar ion-pair interactions using linear correlations, while epsilon(Eu)3+,SO4(2-) = 0.8(6) +/- 0.5 was fitted to the experimental data because, to date, SIT coefficients between multicharged species are not reported. The formation constants obtained here confirm some of those previously measured for Ln(III) and An(III) by various experimental techniques, and conversely do not give credit to the idea that in equilibrium conditions TRLIL and other spectroscopic techniques would provide stability constants of only inner-sphere complexes. The fluorescence lifetimes measured for EuSO4+ and Eu(SO4)(2-) were consistent with the replacement of one H2O molecule in the first coordination sphere of Eu3+ for each added SO4(2-) ligand, suggesting a monodentate SO4(2-) coordination.

Stabilities of the aqueous complexes Cm(CO3)33- and Am(CO3)33- in the temperature range 10-70 degrees C.

The carbonate complexation of curium(III) in aqueous solutions with high ionic strength was investigated below solubility limits in the 10-70 degrees C temperature range using time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS). The equilibrium constant, K(3), for the Cm(CO(3))(2-) + CO(3)(2-) right harpoon over left harpoon Cm(CO(3))(3)(3-) reaction was determined (log K(3) = 2.01 +/- 0.05 at 25 degrees C, I = 3 M (NaClO(4))) and compared to scattered previously published values. The log K(3) value for Cm(III) was found to increase linearly with 1/T, reflecting a negligible temperature influence on the corresponding molar enthalpy change, Delta(r)H(3) = 12.2 +/- 4.4 kJ mol(-1), and molar entropy change, Delta(r)S(3) = 79 +/- 16 J mol(-1) K(-1). These values were extrapolated to I = 0 with the SIT formula (Delta(r)H(3) degrees = 9.4 +/- 4.8 kJ mol(-1), Delta(r)S(3) degrees = 48 +/- 23 J mol(-1) K(-1), log K(3) degrees = 0.88 +/- 0.05 at 25 degrees C). Virtually the same values were obtained from the solubility data for the analogous Am(III) complexes, which were reinterpreted considering the transformation of the solubility-controlling solid. The reaction studied was found to be driven by the entropy. This was interpreted as a result of hydration changes. As expected, excess energy changes of the reaction showed that the ionic strength had a greater influence on Delta(r)S(3) than it did on Delta(r)H(3).