Chlorination of uranium oxides with CCl₄ using a mechanochemical method

A chlorination method for uranium oxides at low temperature was investigated by using a mechanochemical method. In particular, the possibility of the chlorination of uranium oxides, such as UO₂ and U ₃O₈, via mechanochemical reaction with CCl₄ was studied using a planetary ball mill. Mechanochemical experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of milling time, CCl₄/uranium oxide molar ratio, and revolution speed on the reaction. The synthesized products were then subjected to X-ray diffraction analysis, and it was found that the chlorination of U₃O₈ with CCl₄ to UOCl₂, UCl ₄, and U₂O₂Cl₅ proceeded. However, the chlorination reaction could not be observed when using UO₂ powder as the raw material.