DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES OF UN, THN, AND THC

Abstract

The electronic properties of several prospective nuclear fuels are not yet well known. We compare the electronic heat capacity and thermal conductivity of non-magnetic UN and ThN with ThC. We used Quantum Espresso and EPW codes to evaluate the electron density of states, the electronic heat capacity coefficient, the electron-phonon coupling strength, the number of mobility electrons, and the electronic heat conductivity over the temperature range 300 K – 1000 K. We confirmed that while the electronic heat capacity coefficient is linearly dependent on the electron density of states at Fermi energy, such a simple relation could not be used to determine the difference in the electronic heat conductivity of investigated materials, the highest heat conductivity was registered in ThN.