Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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Synthesis of thorium tetrafluoride (ThF4) by ammonium hydrogen difluoride (NH4HF2)

  • Bahri, Che Nor Aniza Che Zainul (Nuclear Science Program, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) ;
  • Ismail, Aznan Fazli (Nuclear Science Program, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) ;
  • Majid, Amran Ab. (Nuclear Science Program, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia)
  • Received : 2018.07.05
  • Accepted : 2018.12.28
  • Published : 2019.04.25
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Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the fluorination of thorium oxide ($ThO_2$) by ammonium hydrogen difluoride ($NH_4HF_2$). Fluorination was performed at room temperature by mixing $ThO_2$ and $NH_4HF_2$ at different molar ratios, which was then left to react for 20 days. Next, the mixtures were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) at the intervals of 5, 10, 15, and 20 days, followed by the heating of the mixtures at $450-750^{\circ}C$ with argon gas flow. The characterization of $ThF_4$ was established using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy-dispersion X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). In this study, ammonium thorium fluoride was synthesized through the fluorination of $ThO_2$ at room temperature. The optimum molar ratio in synthesizing ammonium thorium fluoride was 1.0:5.5 ($ThO_2:NH_4HF_2$) with 5 days reaction time. In addition, the heating of ammonium thorium fluoride at $450^{\circ}C$ was sufficient to produce $ThF_4$. Overall, this study proved that $NH_4HF_2$ is one of the fluorination agents that is capable of synthesizing $ThF_4$.

Keywords

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