Plutonium tetrafluoride
Plutonium fluoride is a chemical compound with the formula PuF4. This salt is generally a brown solid but can appear a variety of colors depending on the grain size, purity, moisture content, lighting, and presence of contaminants. Its primary use in the United States has been as an intermediary product in the production of plutonium metal for nuclear weapons usage.
Formation
Plutonium fluoride is produced in the reaction between plutonium dioxide or plutonium(III) fluoride with hydrofluoric acid in a stream of oxygen at 450 to 600 °C. The main purpose of the oxygen stream is to avoid reduction of the product by hydrogen gas, small amounts of which are often found in HF.Laser irradiation of plutonium hexafluoride at wavelengths under 520 nm causes it to decompose into plutonium pentafluoride and fluorine; if this is continued, plutonium fluoride is obtained.
Properties
In terms of its structure, solid plutonium fluoride features 8-coordinate Pu centers interconnected by doubly bridging fluoride ligands.Reaction of plutonium tetrafluoride with barium, calcium, or lithium at 1200 °C gives Pu metal: