Uranyl chloride

Dichlordioxiuran

Yellow, fluorescent crystals

Fixed

• Poorly soluble in THF

Risk

Template: Infobox chemical / molecular formula search is not possible

Uranyl, (UO2 ) Cl2 is an unstable, pale yellow chemical compound of uranium. It forms large sand -like crystals. The molecule is formed by chlorine gas is passed over red-hot uranium dioxide. Uranyl chloride also is produced when uranium oxide is dissolved in hydrochloric acid and the solution was then evacuated.

Properties

Uranyl chloride and its two hydrates ( (UO2 ) Cl2 · H2O / (UO2 ) Cl2 · 3 H2O) decompose on exposure to light, which was found in 1804 by Adolph Ferdinand Gehlen. This sensitivity to light excited at times scientific attention and numerous efforts to use the salts for new photographic applications, but this was not successful. How many other uranium compounds shows uranyl fluorescence under ultraviolet light, compared to other uranyl salts, however, they are weak.

Industrial importance

The company Indian Rare Earths Limited ( IREL ) has developed a way to gain uranium from the eastern and western coastal dunes of India. After the pre-processing with strong magnetic separators and pulverizing the mineral-rich sands ( Monazite ) are separated with sodium hydroxide and water at approximately 120 ° C under pressure. The hydroxide is then mixed with concentrated hydrochloric acid to convert the hydroxides into a saturated solution of uranium chloride, and other chlorides of the rare earth elements ( including thorium). Thereafter, the solvent is extracted from the solution, thereby uranyl and thorium is formed. The impure Uranylchloridlösung is now refined by precipitation and extraction of foreign bodies in nitrate solution to nuclear purity.

Health and environmental hazards

Uranyl chloride is highly toxic by inhalation and if swallowed. There is also the risk of accumulation in the human body, which affects mainly the liver and kidneys. For aquatic organisms, it is also toxic and may cause long term adverse effects in the aquatic world. As all the uranium compounds it is radioactive. The activity is dependent upon the isotope composition of the uranium.