Irradiation effects in hydrated zirconium molybdate

Hydrated zirconium molybdate is a precipitate formed during the process of spent nuclear fuel dissolution. In order to study the radiation stability of this material, we performed gamma and electron irradiation in a dose range of 10–100 kGy. XRD patterns showed that the crystalline structure is not affected by irradiation. However, the yellow original sample exhibits a blue–grey color after exposure. The resulting samples were analyzed by means of EPR and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Two sites for trapped electrons were evidenced leading to a d1 configuration responsible for the observed coloration. Moreover, a third defect corresponding to a hole trapped on oxygen was observed after electron irradiation at low temperature.