Radiation chemistry of actinides

The paper presents data on the development of a mathematical model describing the radiation-chemical behaviour of plutonium in 3–6 mol/l HNO₃ with uranium present and absent. Using experimental data on the kinetics of Pu(VI) reduction and Pu(IV) oxidation, and comparing them with the calculated values, we succeeded in finding the previously unknown rate constants of many reactions between plutonium ions and HNO₃ radiolysis products, between plutonium ions and between plutonium ions and uranium ions. The mechanism of the radiation-chemical processes has been established.