Radionuclide speciation / Analytics

Maintaining a state-of-the-art portfolio of advanced surface science and spectroscopy methods at INE is an important R&D activity, as these methods are crucial tools for advancing our understanding of actinide and radionuclide (geo)chemistry or the behavior of nuclear waste forms during prolonged interim storage. Radionuclide speciation methods available at INE controlled area laboratories and the KIT synchrotron radiation facility ANKA are continuously adapted to serve the requirements of the INE in house R&D program. Access to this unique instrumentation is as well provided to INE’s national and international partners in the frame of cooperation agreements or joint research projects.

The “Radionuclide Speciation” department at INE comprises five research groups: The X-ray spectroscopy group and high resolution X-ray emission spectrocopy (HRXES) group are responsible for the operation of INE’s synchrotron radiation beamlines at the KIT synchrotron source (INE-Beamline and ACT station at the new CAT-ACT beamline). The surface analysis and microscopy group provides optical and electron microscopy and various surface sensitive spectroscopy tools, including XPS and Raman spectroscopy. The laser spectroscopy group develops and adapts laser based methods, e.g., for highly sensitive speciation of actinides by time resolved optical fluorescence spectroscopy or detection of aquatic radionuclide colloids by laser induced breakdown detection. Computational Chemistry using ab initio, first principle and classical mechanics methods at INE provides valuable fundamental insights on a molecular scale, greatly assisting, supporting and complementing experimental investigations in the field of nuclear waste disposal.