Characterization of a Cerium-rich pyrochlore-based ceramic nuclear waste form

Titanate ceramics have been proposed as candidate materials for immobilizing excess weapons plutonium. This study focuses on the characterization of a titanate-based ceramic through X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron probe microanalysis, and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). Three distinct phases have been identified, and their volume fraction was determined from element distribution maps using Scionimage-NIH Analysis software. This analysis revealed that the pyrochlore-group phase betafite (A2Ti2O7) forms the matrix of the ceramic and occupies 90.4% of the volume. Uniformly distributed in this matrix are perovskite (A2Ti2O6) and Hf-enriched rutile (TiO2), which account for 6.4 vol% and 3.1 vol%, respectively. The studied ceramic exhibits a very low porosity (0.3 vol%), which is characterized by small (