Lanthanide electrodeposition in aqueous ammonium acetate: A surrogate approach for actinide film fabrication

Jonathan Morrison; Robert Sacci; Kristian Myhre; Jisue Moon Braatz

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2025.155698

Lanthanide electrodeposition in aqueous ammonium acetate: A surrogate approach for actinide film fabrication

Jonathan Morrison, Robert Sacci, Kristian Myhre, Jisue Moon Braatz

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Electrodeposition is a key technique for preparing actinide thin films, which are used in applications such as alpha spectroscopy, accelerator beam bombardments, irradiation studies, and as radioactive sources. In this study, we investigate the electrodeposition of actinides using three nonradioactive lanthanide surrogates: lanthanum, samarium, and lutetium. Using cyclic voltammetry, chronopotentiometry, pH evolution measurements, and imaging, we examine the electrodeposition mechanisms driven by local pH changes at the electrode surface, caused by cathodic reactions that form hydroxide species. While all three lanthanides produced similar thin film morphologies, lutetium showed a stronger preference for deposition at lower currents compared to lanthanum and samarium. This difference suggests that the unique properties of lanthanide hydroxides influence the deposition process. These findings underscore the importance of accounting for the variability in lanthanide and actinide hydroxides as the range of actinides used in electrodeposition continues to expand.

Original language	English
Article number	155698
Journal	Journal of Nuclear Materials
Volume	607
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2025.155698
State	Published - Mar 2025

Funding

This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle LLC under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). This research is supported by the US Department of Energy Isotope Program, managed by the Office of Science for Isotope R&D and Production.

Keywords

CP
CV
Electrodeposition
Lanthanide surrogates
Pourbaix diagram
QCM

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10.1016/j.jnucmat.2025.155698

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title = "Lanthanide electrodeposition in aqueous ammonium acetate: A surrogate approach for actinide film fabrication",

abstract = "Electrodeposition is a key technique for preparing actinide thin films, which are used in applications such as alpha spectroscopy, accelerator beam bombardments, irradiation studies, and as radioactive sources. In this study, we investigate the electrodeposition of actinides using three nonradioactive lanthanide surrogates: lanthanum, samarium, and lutetium. Using cyclic voltammetry, chronopotentiometry, pH evolution measurements, and imaging, we examine the electrodeposition mechanisms driven by local pH changes at the electrode surface, caused by cathodic reactions that form hydroxide species. While all three lanthanides produced similar thin film morphologies, lutetium showed a stronger preference for deposition at lower currents compared to lanthanum and samarium. This difference suggests that the unique properties of lanthanide hydroxides influence the deposition process. These findings underscore the importance of accounting for the variability in lanthanide and actinide hydroxides as the range of actinides used in electrodeposition continues to expand.",

keywords = "CP, CV, Electrodeposition, Lanthanide surrogates, Pourbaix diagram, QCM",

author = "Jonathan Morrison and Robert Sacci and Kristian Myhre and Braatz, {Jisue Moon}",

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year = "2025",

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doi = "10.1016/j.jnucmat.2025.155698",

language = "English",

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T2 - A surrogate approach for actinide film fabrication

AU - Morrison, Jonathan

AU - Sacci, Robert

AU - Myhre, Kristian

AU - Braatz, Jisue Moon

PY - 2025/3

Y1 - 2025/3

N2 - Electrodeposition is a key technique for preparing actinide thin films, which are used in applications such as alpha spectroscopy, accelerator beam bombardments, irradiation studies, and as radioactive sources. In this study, we investigate the electrodeposition of actinides using three nonradioactive lanthanide surrogates: lanthanum, samarium, and lutetium. Using cyclic voltammetry, chronopotentiometry, pH evolution measurements, and imaging, we examine the electrodeposition mechanisms driven by local pH changes at the electrode surface, caused by cathodic reactions that form hydroxide species. While all three lanthanides produced similar thin film morphologies, lutetium showed a stronger preference for deposition at lower currents compared to lanthanum and samarium. This difference suggests that the unique properties of lanthanide hydroxides influence the deposition process. These findings underscore the importance of accounting for the variability in lanthanide and actinide hydroxides as the range of actinides used in electrodeposition continues to expand.

AB - Electrodeposition is a key technique for preparing actinide thin films, which are used in applications such as alpha spectroscopy, accelerator beam bombardments, irradiation studies, and as radioactive sources. In this study, we investigate the electrodeposition of actinides using three nonradioactive lanthanide surrogates: lanthanum, samarium, and lutetium. Using cyclic voltammetry, chronopotentiometry, pH evolution measurements, and imaging, we examine the electrodeposition mechanisms driven by local pH changes at the electrode surface, caused by cathodic reactions that form hydroxide species. While all three lanthanides produced similar thin film morphologies, lutetium showed a stronger preference for deposition at lower currents compared to lanthanum and samarium. This difference suggests that the unique properties of lanthanide hydroxides influence the deposition process. These findings underscore the importance of accounting for the variability in lanthanide and actinide hydroxides as the range of actinides used in electrodeposition continues to expand.

KW - CP

KW - CV

KW - Electrodeposition

KW - Lanthanide surrogates

KW - Pourbaix diagram

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JO - Journal of Nuclear Materials

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Lanthanide electrodeposition in aqueous ammonium acetate: A surrogate approach for actinide film fabrication

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Keywords

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