Detecting low concentrations of plutonium hydride with magnetization measurements

作者：Kim Jae Wook^*; Mun E D; Baiardo J P; Smith A I; Richmond S; Mitchell J; Schwartz D; Zapf V S; Mielke C H

来源：Journal of Applied Physics, 2015, 117(5): 053905.

DOI：10.1063/1.4907216

We report the formation of plutonium hydride in 2 at.% Ga-stabilized delta-Pu, with 1 at.% H charging. We show that magnetization measurements are a sensitive, quantitative measure of ferromagnetic plutonium hydride against the nonmagnetic background of plutonium. It was previously shown that at low hydrogen concentrations, hydrogen forms super-abundant vacancy complexes with plutonium, resulting in a bulk lattice contraction. Here, we use magnetization, X-ray, and neutron diffraction measurements to show that in addition to forming vacancy complexes, at least 30% of the H atoms bond with Pu to precipitate PuHx on the surface of the sample with x similar to 1.9. We observe magnetic hysteresis loops below 40K with magnetic remanence, consistent with ferromagnetic PuH1.9.

• 出版日期2015-2-7
• 单位rutgers; Los Alamos