Uranium oxide is an oxide of the element uranium.
The metal uranium forms several oxides:
- Uranium dioxide or uranium(IV) oxide (UO2, the mineral uraninite or pitchblende)
- Diuranium pentoxide or uranium(V) oxide (U2O5)
- Uranium trioxide or uranium(VI) oxide (UO3)
- Triuranium octoxide (U3O8), the most stable uranium oxide; yellowcake typically contains 70 to 90 percent triuranium octoxide)
- Uranyl peroxide (UO2O2 or UO4)
- Amorphous uranium(VI) oxide (Am-U2O7)
Uranium dioxide is oxidized in contact with oxygen to form triuranium octoxide.
3 UO2 + O2 → U3O8 at 250 °C (523 K)Preparation 38
During World War II, "Preparation 38" was the codename for uranium oxide used by German scientists.123
References
Per F. Dahl, Heavy water and the wartime race for nuclear energy (Institute of Physics Publishing, London 1999), p. 135 ↩
Uranium Oxide International Bio-Analytical Industries, Inc. Archived January 18, 2013, at the Wayback Machine http://www.ibilabs.com/U3O8-MSDS.htm ↩
Geoffrey Brooks (1992). Hitler's Nuclear Weapons. Pen and Sword. p. 40. ISBN 9780850523447. 9780850523447 ↩