title: Characterization of chemical speciation in ultrathin uranium oxide layered films.
abstract: A unique approach to detect chemical speciation and distribution on nanometer-scale nuclear materials has been achieved by the combination of neutron reflectometry and shell-isolated surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Both surface and underlying layers of the uranium oxide materials were determined with angstrom-level resolution. Our results reveal that the UO(x) film is composed of three sublayers: an ∼38 Å thick layer of U(3)O(8) formed along the UO(x)/substrate interface; the adjacent sublayer consists of an ∼900 Å thick single phase of α-UO(3), and the top layer is γ-UO(3) with a thickness of ∼115 Å.
authors.affiliation: Chemistry Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico 87545, United States.
authors.forename: Heming
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: D D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Allred
authors.forename: Jaroslaw
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Majewski
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Wilkerson
authors.forename: Kirk D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Rector