Raman Spectroscopy: A Versatile Tool for The Studies on The Back-End of The Nuclear Fuel Cycle

In recent years, Raman spectroscopy has proven to be a highly versatile characterization technique for nuclear materials research. This sensitive technique possesses, among others, two relevant features that comply with the safety conditions required when handling nuclear materials: its flexibility allows for remote, <i>in situ</i> and <i>ex situ</i> analysis, and its relative ease of use implies small sample quantities and limited effort for sample preparation. In this work, we demonstrate the usefulness of taking into consideration Raman spectroscopy for research studies on the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle. In particular, we show some of the valuable results that can be obtained when applying this technique to: 1) the advanced characterization of nuclear fuels, 2) the evaluation of the spent nuclear fuel behavior under different storage conditions, and 3) the development and monitoring of hydrometallurgical separation processes.