Rapid dissolution of PuO₂ analytical samples using mediated electrochemical oxidation

Current methods for quantitative dissolution of solid PuO₂ involve lengthy dissolution times. The adaptation of mediated electrochemical oxidation, which uses an electrochemically produced oxidizing agent to catalyze dissolution, has been explored for radiochemical analysis scale dissolutions of PuO₂. The effects of temperature, electrode material, and electrocatalyst on the dissolution kinetics were explored. Under conditions examined in this study, complete dissolution of tens of milligrams of solid PuO₂ can be achieved in less than 1 h at ambient temperature. This methodology could be adapted to dissolve other metal oxides.