Mechanochemical synthesis of strontium apatites doped with lanthanum and cesium

Britholites have gained much interest among researchers thanks to their potential applications as matrices for the confinement of the byproducts in the nuclear industry, such as minor actinides and long-lived fission products. However, their preparation requires a high temperature of about 1400 degrees C. In this work, we report the preparation by mechanochemical synthesis of strontium apatites doped with lanthanum and cesium. The reactants in stoichiometric proportions were milled for different periods from 30 mm to 25 h, using a planetary ball mill. The results of X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy analyses showed that it is possible to obtain such apatite by a suitable grinding. However, there was formation of secondary phases whose nature is closely related to the initial composition. To avoid the incorporation into the apatite structure of carbonate ions contained in the starting reagents, it is necessary to use carbonate-free reagents. (c) 2013 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.