Ultrasound-assisted Conversion of ThO$_2$ into a Th peroxo sulfate

Abstract : Nanostructured materials can be defined as materials with a microstructure the characteristic length scale of which is on the order of a few (typically 1-10) nanometers. Nanostructuring of materials is an important subject of study because of their interesting physical and chemical properties which can be optimized according to their size, morphology and structure. The nanoscale particles that compose these materials have a large surface-to-volume ratio and provide a greater amount of active sites compared to other larger materials. Therefore, nanostructured materials may find applications in catalysis, biomedical, synthesis of luminescent materials, etc. Nevertheless, nanostructuring of actinide oxides and their subsequent reactivity are poorly reported in the literature. Recent studies showed that nanostructuration of plutonium oxide appears to play a key role in the sonochemical formation of Pu colloids in aqueous solutions.