Uranium oxide is an oxide of the element uranium.
The metal uranium forms half a dozen known oxides:
- Uranium dioxide or uranium(IV) oxide (UO2, the mineral uraninite or pitchblende)
- Diuranium pentoxide or uranium(V) oxide (U2O5)
- Uranium trioxide or uranium(VI) oxide (UO3)
- Triuranium octoxide (U3O8, the most stable uranium oxide; yellowcake typically contains 70 to 90 percent triuranium octoxide)
- Uranyl peroxide (UO2O2 or UO4)
- Amorphous uranium(VI) oxide (Am-U2O7)
Uranium dioxide is oxidized in contact with oxygen to form triuranium octoxide.
- 3 UO2 + O2 → U3O8 at 250 °C (523 K)
Preparation 38
During World War II, "Preparation 38" was the codename for uranium oxide used by German scientists.123
References
References
- Per F. Dahl, Heavy water and the wartime race for nuclear energy (Institute of Physics Publishing, London 1999), p. 135
- Uranium Oxide International Bio-Analytical Industries, Inc. Archived January 18, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- Geoffrey Brooks (1992). Hitler's Nuclear Weapons. Pen and Sword. p. 40. ISBN 9780850523447.