CAREER: Molecular-Scale Behavior of Actinide Elements at the Mineral-Water Interface

职业：锕系元素在矿泉水界面的分子尺度行为

• 批准号: 1847939
• 负责人: Amy Hixon
• 金额: $ 47.22万
• 依托单位: University of Notre Dame
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-07-01 至 2025-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1847939&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Molecular; Scale; Behavior; Actinide

Professor Amy E. Hixon of the University of Notre Dame is supported by a CAREER award from the Environmental Chemical Sciences program in the Chemistry Division to study actinides. The actinide elements are those with atomic numbers 89-103 (i.e., actinium through lawrencium, including uranium, thorium and plutonium). All actinides are radioactive; that is, they release energy upon radioactive decay. Several actinides (e.g. uranium) are used in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Americium is used in most modern smoke detectors. The actinides are important to society due to their use in medicine, power generation, and national security. Since the actinide elements are radioactive, they are far less studied than other elements on the periodic table. In this project, Dr. Hixon studies the environmental behavior of the actinide element plutonium using both experiments and models. The goal is to address the relationship between plutonium concentration, the particle size of the solid, and the structure of the solid. The education of a future workforce that understands the health and safety aspects of radioactive elements contributes directly to advancing national health and securing the national defense. By using the facilities at Los Alamos National Laboratory, this CAREER program gives students the opportunity to work within federal laboratory facilities leveraging and advancing new and novel techniques such as Pu-239 NMR spectroscopy. The nuclear energy lesson plan kits are a valuable resource for the South Bend Community School Corporation, which has a large minority student population. Finally, the "Get to Know Nuclear" Girl Scout events serve as a platform to inspire young women to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This project addresses the sorption and reduction of plutonium at the solid-water interface. Experiments involve batch experiments and spectroscopic analyses, such as X-ray absorption spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and magnetic susceptibility measurements. These approaches show how three variables affect the structure of plutonium associated with the solid. The first variable is plutonium concentration. The second variable is the concentration of aluminum in an iron mineral. The third variable is the particle size of the solid. Modeling shows how and why these variables are important and are used to predict the behavior of plutonium in new systems. Dr. Hixon is also developing lesson plans to teach high school students about radioactive materials and hosting events for local Girl Scouts.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Amy E.圣母大学的希克森得到了化学系环境化学科学项目的职业奖的支持，研究锕系元素。 锕系元素是原子序数为89-103的元素（即，从锕到镧，包括铀、钍和钚）。所有的锕系元素都是放射性的;也就是说，它们在放射性衰变时释放能量。几种锕系元素（如铀）用于核反应堆和核武器。 镅用于大多数现代烟雾探测器。锕系元素由于其在医学、发电和国家安全方面的用途而对社会很重要。由于锕系元素是放射性的，它们比周期表上的其他元素少得多。在这个项目中，Hixon博士使用实验和模型研究了锕系元素钚的环境行为。目标是解决钚浓度、固体颗粒尺寸和固体结构之间的关系。教育未来的劳动力了解放射性元素的健康和安全方面，直接有助于促进国民健康和确保国防。通过使用洛斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室的设施，这个职业计划让学生有机会在联邦实验室设施内工作，利用和推进新的和新颖的技术，如钚-239核磁共振光谱。核能课程计划包是南本德社区学校公司的宝贵资源，该公司拥有大量的少数民族学生。 最后，“了解核”女童子军活动是激励年轻妇女学习科学、技术、工程和数学的平台。 该项目涉及钚在固体-水界面的吸附和还原。实验涉及批量实验和光谱分析，如X射线吸收光谱，核磁共振光谱和磁化率测量。这些方法显示了三个变量如何影响与固体相关的钚的结构。第一个变量是钚浓度。第二个变量是铁矿石中铝的浓度，第三个变量是固体颗粒的大小。建模显示了这些变量是如何以及为什么重要的，并用于预测钚在新系统中的行为。Hixon博士还在制定教学计划，向高中生讲授放射性材料，并为当地女童子军举办活动。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。