Stability and optical properties of plutonium monoxide from first-principle calculation.
Sci Rep 2017;
7:12167. [PMID:
28939821 PMCID:
PMC5610248 DOI:
10.1038/s41598-017-12428-x]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2017] [Accepted: 09/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The resolution of questions about the existence of condensed plutonium monoxide (PuO) has long been hindered by lack of thermochemical data. Here we perform first-principles calculation to investigate the reaction Pu2O3 + Pu → 3 PuO and find that PuO is thermodynamically unstable under ambient pressure. We also find that pressure could stabilize PuO by strengthening the hybridization between Pu-5f/6d and O-2p states. Moreover, the dynamical stability of NaCl-type PuO is verified by the phonon calculation. Optical properties such as reflectivity are also predicted for the detection of metallic PuO.
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