Title: Dissolution of Uranium Dioxide Microspheres in Carbonate and Hydrogen Peroxide Solutions

Uranium dioxide has been used in industry both as a fuel for power reactors and as a target for the production of radioisotopes. One of the most important radioisotopes produced using these targets is molybdenum-99 (Mo-99, 65.94hr half-life), which is the parent isotope to technetium-99m (Tc-99m, 6.01hr half-life), a radioisotope used in 70% of diagnostic medical isotope procedures performed in the United States of America. [1] [2] Molybdenum-99, produced by either the thermal neutron fission of uranium-235 in nuclear reactors or by neutron activation of molybdenum-98, is purified, packaged, and shipped to hospitals worldwide. The maximal activity of Tc-99m is reached in 22.9hrs, so it can be milked from the parent Mo-99 repeatedly. Mo-99 is one of many fission products generated during the thermal neutron fission of uranium-235. For production of Mo-99, irradiation targets based on metallic uranium, uranium alloys, or uranium dioxide are produced. After neutron irradiation in a reactor, the uranium target must first be dissolved in a suitable medium. This has traditionally been done using boiling nitric acid solutions. In literature and in industry, the use of alkaline solutions, specifically carbonate salt solutions combined with hydroge