What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to synthesize plutonium trichloride and measure the redox potentials for the Pu3+/Pu0 couple.

May 20, 2026Open Access

Synthesis of plutonium trichloride and measurement of redox potentials for the Pu3+/Pu0 couple in NaCl–2CsCl melt

Key Points

This research aims to synthesize plutonium trichloride and measure the redox potentials for the Pu3+/Pu0 couple.
Synthesis of PuCl3 via a solid-state reaction of plutonium nitride and cadmium chloride.
Electrochemical studies conducted in NaCl–2CsCl melt at temperatures between 823–923 K.
Determination of activity coefficients based on Gibbs free energy of formation for PuCl3.
The standard potentials for the Pu3+/Pu0 redox couple were determined as E*(Pu3+/Pu0) = −3.514 + 8.60 × 10−4 T vs. Cl2/Cl− (V).
A single-step mechanism for the reduction of Pu3+ ions to metallic Pu was identified.

Abstract

Plutonium trichloride (PuCl3) was synthesized by a solid-state reaction of plutonium nitride with cadmium chloride. Electrochemical studies of PuCl3–(NaCl–2CsCl) melt at 823–923 K revealed that Pu3+ ions are reduced to Pu metal by a single-step mechanism and that the apparent standard potentials of the Pu3+/Pu0 redox couple are given by E*(Pu3+/Pu0) = − 3.514 + 8.60 × 10−4 T vs. Cl2/Cl− (V). The activity coefficients of Pu3+ ions were determined using the previously reported Gibbs free energy of formation for PuCl3 in the supercooled liquid state.

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