Crystal Structure of Uranium Nitride

Uranium nitrides have aroused more and more attention due to their unique physical and chemical properties and their excellent performance in applications such as nuclear fuel and anti-corrosion coating for uranium metal. In U-N system, five structures of uranium nitrides, including NaCl-type UN, HgIn-type UN, Mn2O3-type α-U2N3, La2O3-type β-U2N3 and CaF2-type UN2, have been identified and studied extensively^[1]. The crystal structures of uranium nitrides are showed below.

Figure 1. Crystal structure of uranium nitrides^[1]:(a) HgIn type UN; (b) NaCl type UN; (c) CaF2 type UN2; (d) Mn2O3 type α-U2N3; (e) La2O3 type β-U2N3.

Reference

[1] Crystal Structure and Electronic Structure of Uranium Nitrides. doi: 10.7536/PC180303

You may like