Uranium nitride synthesis by gas/gas reaction of UF6 and NH3.

This thesis project aims to develop an innovative technique for the production of high-purity uranium nitride (UN) through the ammonolysis of fluorides. The desired objective is to perform a controlled gas/gas reaction between uranium hexafluoride (UF6) and ammonia (NH3) at 800°C. The intermediate product thereby obtained (uranium dinitride, UN2) is subjected to further heating up to 1100°C under argon atmosphere, to ultimately produce UN. An inherent challenge faced in previous experiments was related to the dissociation of ammonia, which is a limiting factor for upscaling. Therefore, in this project a new setup is invented to address this challenge and it is proved experimentally: the idea is to achieve a coaxial laminar flow of UF6 and a carrier gas, where a central stream of the former is shielded by the latter so that the two reacting gasses mix only in the hot point of the furnace, where the desired reaction can happen. To implement this approach, the ammonia dissociation has been studied, an apparatus for the controlled evaporation of UF6 has been designed and built, and two different injection nozzles have been tested in different setup configurations. Eventually, the complete prototype has been tested altogether in a synthesis experiment at 800°C, and the products thus obtained have been converted into UN at 1100°C. Numerous auxiliary experiments have been performed using UF4 as a reactant, as it is easier to handle and the results thus obtained can be largely extended to UF6. Lastly, a UF4 synthesis experiment has been performed, as educationally helpful to further dig into some chemistry features of this material, and a UN pellet has been sintered with Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS).