Reduction of the photoexcited uranyl ion by water

Photooxidation of water by the uranyl ion was studied. Solutions of uranyl in 0.01–4.0M H₂SO₄, HClO₄, or 0.1–1.0M Na₂SO₄ and NaClO₄ containing “lacunary” heteropolytungstate (HPT) K₁₀P₂W₁₇O₆₁ or K₈SiW₁₁O₃₉ were irradiated with a nitrogen laser, a mercury or xenon lamp, or visible light. Spectrophotometric analysis showed that the irradiation results in the accumulation of U^IV. Simultaneously the formation of H₂O₂ proceeds. The quantum yield Φ of the reaction increases as the concentration of the acid or salt increases. For aerated solutions of 1M H₂SO₄ or 1M HClO₄, irradiation by light with λ=337.1 Φ is close to (1.5–2)·10⁻³. The irradiation of solutions with pH −4 for many days leads to an almost quantitative transformation of UO₂ ²⁺ into U^IV. When the irradiation was carried out in the absence of HPA, U^IV was not detected, although hydrogen peroxide was observed in the solution. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya. No. 2, pp. 282–287, February, 2000.