Studying Actinide Correlations in Solution using High Energy X-ray Scattering

摘要

High energy x-ray scattering (HEXS) is becoming a valuable tool for quantifying actinide coordination environments in solution. The technique is described with and exemplified by a study on Th speciation. A comparison of data from two samples with pHs of 0 and 3.4 show differences in the Th structural environment that can be attributed to Th colloid formation at the higher pH. A further comparison of the HEXS data from the colloidal sample with Th L_3-edge EXAFS data on the same sample clearly demonstrates the advantage of the scattering data when looking for correlations at second-near neighbor or longer distances.