Isothermal decomposition of gamma-irradiated uranyl acetate

Isothermal decomposition of un-irradiated and pre-gamma-irradiated dehydrat ed uranyl acetate has been investigated at different temperatures between 5 73 and 593 K. Irradiation enhances the rate of decomposition without modifi cation of the mechanism of thermal decomposition which has been shown to pr oceed by a nucleation and growth mechanism, both for un-irradiated and pre- gamma-irradiated samples of uranyl acetate. The enhancement of the decompos ition was found to increase with an increase in the gamma-ray dose applied to the sample and may be attributed to an increase in the number of point d efects and formation of additional nucleation centers generated in the host lattice. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.