Potential defect structure effects in the volatility separation of sub-picogram quantities of fission and activation products from an irradiated UO 2 matrix

The use of fluorination as a rapid separation technique for quantification of trace-mass, short-lived isotopes is illustrated. Single crystal 238UO2 was exposed to a 14 MeV neutron source to produce mixed fission and activation products. Selective removal of trace volatile fluorides from non-volatile ones produced two results of interest. A decrease in background produced better detection and quantification of select analytes across the gamma spectrum. Second, at the very low burnup condition described, the volatility behaviors of common isotopes were altered relative to their well-established behaviors in higher burnup metal and metal oxide fuels.