Characterization of UF5 ultrafine particles using TEM, XPS, and XRD

The ultrafine particles synthesized by a TEA-CO2 laser induced plasma reaction of a UF6/H2/Ar gas mixture were characterized by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The product was found to be UF5 ultrafine particles with an average diameter of 15 nm by XPS and TEM. XRD measurements showed that the 2θ values of the three peaks observed for the UF5 ultrafine particles were shifted to lower angle by 1° than the corresponding peaks of β-UF5 crystal. This suggests that the lattice constants of the ultrafine particles became larger by 2 to 5% than those of the crystal.