Neptunium(IV) Oxide - Uses

Uses

The neptunium dioxide complex is used as a means of stabilizing, and decreasing the "long term environmental burden" of neptunium as a nuclear fission byproduct. Actinide-containing nuclear waste will commonly be treated so that various AnO₂ (where An = U, P, Np, Am, etc.) complexes form. In neptunium dioxide, the neptunium is of reduced radio toxicity compared with pure neptunium metal, and is thus more desirable for storage and disposal. Neptunium dioxide has also been show to contribute to increased decay rates of radioactive metals, an application which is currently being explored.

Neptunium dioxide is also used experimentally for research into nuclear chemistry and physics, and it is speculated that neptunium dioxide could be used to make efficient nuclear weapons. In nuclear reactors, neptunium dioxide can also be used as the target metal for plutonium bombardment.

Furthermore, a patent for a rocket powered by neptunium dioxide is held by Shirakawa Toshihisa © 2007, but there is little information available into research and production associated with such a product.