Abstract
A study was made of UN preparation by two-step reactions with UCl4, Al and N2 gas.In the first step, an intermediate uranium nitride with an N/U ratio of 1.68 resulted from the reaction ofof UC14 with Al under constant flow of N2 at reaction temperatures higher than 800°C.The X-ray pattern of the intermediate nitride did not correspond to any previously known uranium nitride.A maximum conversion efficiency of about 70% was obtained at temperatures between 800° and 1, 000°C for the first reaction.In the second reaction, the intermediate nitride was heat treated under vacuum. To obtain single phase UN from the intermediate nitride, the heat treatment required a temperature of at least 1, 100°C, at which the minimum holding time was 60 min.
