Studies on the synthesis and characterization of cesium-containing iron phosphate glasses

Isotopes of cesium and strontium can be utilized as radiation source for various industrial and medical applications after their separation from high level nuclear waste. However, these elements need to be immobilized in a suitable matrix. In the present work, a systematic approach has been made to immobilize inactive cesium into iron phosphate glass. Up to 36 mol% of Cs2O has been loaded successfully without crystallization. The glass transition temperature of the cesium loaded glass was found to increase initially and then decrease as a function of Cs2O content. Mِssbauer studies show that the concentration of Fe3+ ions in the cesium loaded glasses is >95%. Volatilization experiments at 1263 K show that the weight loss is >0.5% for a period of 4 h. The 36 mol% of Cs2O loaded iron phosphate glass with high Fe3+ content described in this paper is reported for the first time.