Uranyl fluoride luminescence in acidic aqueous solutions

Luminescence emission spectra and decay rates are reported for uranyl species in acidic aqueous solutions containing HF or added NaF. The longest luminescence lifetime, 0.269 {+-} 0.006 ms, was observed from uranyl in 1 M HF + 1 M HClO{sub 4} at 296 K and decreased with increasing temperature. Based on a luminescence dynamics model that assumes equilibrium among electronically excited uranyl fluoride species and free fluoride ion, this long lived uranyl luminescence in aqueous solution is attributed primarily to UO{sub 2}F{sub 2}. Studies on the effect of added LiNO{sub 3} or Na{sub 2}WO{sub 4}{center_dot}2H{sub 2}O showed relatively weak quenching of uranyl fluoride luminescence which suggests that high sensitivity determination of the UF{sub 6} content of WF{sub 6} gas should be feasible via uranyl luminescence analysis of hydrolyzed gas samples of impure WF{sub 6}.