Reductive Dissolution of PuO2(am): The Effect of Fe(II) and Hydroquinone

PuO₂(am) solubility was investigated as a function of time, for pH from 0.5 to 11, and in the presence of 0.001 M FeCl₂ or 0.00052 M hydroquinone to determine the effect of environmentally important reducing agents on PuO₂(am) solubilization under geological conditions. Equilibrium was reached in <4 days. The observed PuO₂(am) solubilities were many orders of magnitude higher than the Pu(IV) concentrations predicted from thermodynamic data. Spectroscopic, solvent extraction, and thermodynamic analyses of data showed that Pu(III) was the dominant aqueous oxidation state. The experimental pH, pe, and Pu(III) concentrations from both the Fe(II) and hydroquinone systems provided a log K ⁰ value of 15.5 ± 0.7 for PuO₂(am) + 4H⁺ + e ^– Pu³⁺ + 2H₂O]. The data show that reduction reactions involving Fe(II) and hydroquinone are relatively rapid and that reductive dissolution of PuO₂(am), hitherto ignored, may play an important role in controlling Pu behavior under reducing environmental conditions.