Nanocrystalline UC2 via SPS carbothermal reduction of molecular precursors

Abstract Some molecularly well-defined uranyl dicarboxylates are synthesized through the hydrothermal or solvothermal reaction of early dicarboxylic acids with uranyl nitrate, using either water or dimethylformamide (DMF) as the solvent. When these compounds are thermally decomposed in a spark plasma sintering (SPS) device, uranium carbides are formed. The resulting phases are determined by the uranium-to-carbon ratio of the precursor. In the case of the carbothermal reduction (CTR) of uranyl terephthalate, single-phase and nanocrystalline UC 2 is obtained. Graphic Abstract