Hydrothermal synthesis of silicon oxide clad uranium oxide nanowires

A facile method to synthesize silicon oxide clad uranium oxide nanowires is presented. U₃Si₂, used as a precursor, was oxidized to produce uranium oxide nanocrystallites and amorphous silicon oxide under hydrothermal conditions at 300°C and a pressure of 7.8 × 10⁶ Pa. The growth of uranium oxide nanowires was assisted by silicon oxide via assembling the uranium oxide nanocrystallites in an amorphous silicon oxide matrix. The microstructure and composition of silicon oxide clad uranium oxide nanowires were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, and EDS. The uranium oxide in the nanowires was determined as UO_2.34 with a fluoride cubic structure.