The influence of Gd2O3 doping on the electrochemical reactivity of uranium dioxide

Abstract

The influence of a trivalent dopant, Gd³⁺ (6 weight %) on the structure, surface morphology and electrochemical reactivity of uranium dioxide was studied using Raman spectroscopy, Scanning Electron microscope (SEM)/Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Cyclic Voltammetry. The results show that the electrodes are uniformly doped and the redox behaviour demonstrates that doping to this level stabilizes the cubic fluorite structure of UO₂ against anodic oxidation/dissolution.