Figure 1 | Scientific Reports

Figure 1

From: Thermally-Conductive and Mechanically-Robust Graphene Nanoplatelet Reinforced UO2 Composite Nuclear Fuels

Figure 1

(a) Starting powders are several hundred µm agglomerates of submicron UO2 + x crystallites; (b) a photo of SPS sintering apparatus with a black box showing where powder compact is located during sintering; Inserted in the lower left corner is the sintered pellet by SPS at 1500 °C for 5 mins with a US penny for comparison; (c) A cross section fractured surface showing the sintered UO2 pellet with an average grain size of 12 ± 1 µm in an equiaxial shape; (d) XRD patterns showing no phase change before (black lines) and after (red lines) SPS process. However, a shift of peaks from high 2θ to lower ones indicates the concurrent reduction and sintering of UO2 + x powder by SPS.

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