Crystal Chemistry of Uranyl Compounds

Dear Colleagues,

Uranyl compounds are known as important constituents of spent nuclear fuel and oxidation zones of mineral deposits. A large amount of structural and chemical data on uranyl compounds has been accumulated recently due to their importance for catalysis, ion-exchange, and absorption applications. Hence, understanding the trends in chemistry and structural diversity of alteration products of primary (or first formed) uranium compounds is important for predicting long-term behavior of radioactive wastes in geological repositories, since some of the alteration products may incorporate radionuclides into their structures. The compounds of hexavalent uranium have witnessed increasing interest not only due to their essential role in energy production but also because of the particular abundance and non-triviality of their crystal chemistry. These compounds are often considered as transporting agents both in geological media and in deposits of spent nuclear fuel. Not only minerals and their analogs are of interest, but also a wide range of synthetic uranium compounds including hybrid and templated materials. This Special Issue is devoted to all aspects of the crystal chemistry of uranium compounds and aims to combine important surveys covering topics indicated in the keywords below. 

We invite you to participate in this Special Issue and to contribute your research results in the fields of uranyl compounds crystal chemistry, structural studies of uranium minerals and related synthetic compounds, structural topology and relationships between compounds, studies of their physical properties, descriptions (including mechanistic) of growth processes, and the properties of the natural and synthetic uranyl compounds.

Dr. Evgeny Nazarchuk
Guest Editor

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