Interaction of Oxygen with Uranium Dioxide and Its Defect Structure

For the first time, the defect structure of the crystal lattice of pure uranium dioxide was determined, and its quantitative description was given by means of a method tested for zirconium dioxide. A series of the features of this lattice in comparison with a similar fluorite lattice of zirconium dioxide were revealed: the absence of the deformation of oxygen anions, the absence of the restrictions on the implementation of the cubic modification, and the possibility of the direct access of oxygen atoms to the interstitial space of the crystal lattice. The presence of systematic error in the results of a series of the experimental works due to the used insufficient freezing (cooling) rate of the material composition was demonstrated.