September 26, 2024 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlightedthe following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: fact-checked peer-reviewed publication trusted source proofread by Dawn M Levy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Combining two techniques, analytical chemists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have become the first to detect fluorine and different isotopes of uranium in a single particle at the same time. Because fluorine is essential for converting uranium into a form suitable for enrichment, spotting both elements together may help inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, determine the intended use of a nuclear material.
The findings, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society , push the limit of how fast single particles can be characterized in terms of their chemical, elemental and isotopic compositions. Critical for understanding chemical processes and dating materials, isotopes are different forms of a chemical element having the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons. "Determining isotopic ratios on single particles takes a lot of time," said ORNL's Benjamin Manard, who led the study.
"Rapid particle analysis for fluorine and uranium isotopic determination is what we've enabled." His team combined two techniques to analyze 40 particles—each about the size of a red blood cell—in less than five.
