Preparation and characterisation of Pu-pyrochlore: [La1−xPux]2 Zr2O7 (x=0–1)

Abstract Thermal and X-ray powder diffraction studies were carried out on mixtures of PuO 2 , ZrO 2 and graphite and La 2 O 3 , PuO 2 , ZrO 2 and graphite. Pu 2 Zr 2 O 7 , a new cubic phase with pyrochlore structure ( a =1.0592 nm), was identified and characterised. The studies also established the existence of a continuous range of solid solution, [La 1− x Pu x ] 2 Zr 2 O 7 with x =0 to 1.