In order to predict the durability of metallic technetium waste form, understanding of the corrosion properties of technetium metal is of importance. One parameter that needs to be considered in those predictions is the building of ruthenium that occurs from the decay of technetium. In this context, the corrosion behavior of technetium-ruthenium and rhenium-ruthenium alloys (rhenium was used as a technetium surrogate) alloys were studied in nitric acid. Technetium-ruthenium and rhenium-ruthenium alloys with various compositions were prepared and their corrosion behavior was studied by electrochemical methods in 1M HNO3.Dissolution potentials of the alloys were determined by linear voltammetry. Result shows that the dissolution potential of the alloys increase with the ruthenium content. In order to understand the dissolution mechanism, electrolysis experiments above the dissolution potential were performed; the corrosion products of the alloys were characterized on the surface of the electrodes by scanning electron microscopy and Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and in solution by UV-visible spectroscopy and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The speciation of technetium, rhenium and ruthenium was studied after dissolution of the alloys at 1.2 V/ (Ag/AgCl). Results show the formation of permetalates for rhenium and technetium and RuO4

Electrochemical studies of technetium-ruthenium and rhenium-ruthenium alloys in nitric acid: Implications for the long term behavior of metallic technetium waste forms

248th National Meeting (2014)

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