Uranium Surface Nitridation and Its Application in Uranium Passivation*

Uranium plays a significant role in the nuclear industry. However, it is chemically active and very easy to be oxidized and corroded in the environment. Therefore, it is very important to study the corrosion and oxidation behavior of uranium metal and to find the appropriate anti-corrosion treatment technology.
This report briefly introduces our recent progress in surface nitridation of uranium and its application in anti-corrosion. The relationship between the preparation technologies and the composition as well as structure of the surface layer was studied. By using TEM, AES and XPS, it is found that surface nitriding can effectively improve the corrosion resistance of the metal uranium. The nitride with high nitrogen content exhibits better oxidation resistance than the one with low nitrogen content. This may due to the formation of uranium oxynitride in the nitride with high content. It can prevent the occurrence of further oxidation corrosion. These findings will contribute to the development of metal uranium surface corrosion protection technology.