Preparation and analysis of strain-free uranium surfaces for electron and x-ray diffraction analysis

TL;DR

This paper presents a method to produce strain-free uranium surfaces suitable for electron backscatter diffraction and x-ray analysis, using electrochemical polishing to minimize surface stress and strain.

Contribution

It introduces an electrochemical polishing protocol for uranium that yields high-quality, strain-free surfaces for diffraction studies, improving surface preparation techniques.

Findings

Electropolishing with phosphoric acid effectively reduces surface strain.

X-ray diffraction confirms low residual stresses on polished uranium surfaces.

High-quality electron backscatter diffraction results from strain-free surfaces.

Abstract

This work describes a methodology for producing high quality metallic surfaces from uranium primarily for characterisation and investigations involving electron backscatter diffraction. Electrochemical measurements have been conducted to inform ideal polishing conditions to produce surfaces free from strain, induced by mechanical polishing. A commonly used solution for the electropolishing of uranium, consisting in part of phosphoric acid, was used to conduct the electrochemical experiments and polishing. X-ray diffraction techniques focusing on the surface show low stresses and strains are exhibited within the material. This is mirrored in good quality electron backscatter diffraction.