Synthesis and study of binary compounds of actinides and lanthanides.: XXIII.: Effect of self-irradiation on the crystal structure of intermetallic compounds of 244Cm

The effect of self-irradiation on the crystal structure of compounds of Cm-244 with Pt, Ir, Rh, Pd, Ni, Al, and Si was studied by X-ray diffraction. The intense a-decay of 244Cm causes increase in the crystal lattice parameters and unit cell volume with subsequent disappearance of the reflections of the crystal lattice of the intermetallic compounds. The lattices of the intermetallic compounds Pt5Cm, Ir2Cm, Rh2Cm, Ni15Cm2, Ni5Cm, SiCm, Si3Cm2, Si2Cm, and Si1.88Cm become completely X-ray amorphous at room temperature in 5-10 days. The amorphization of the Al2Cm lattice starts in 15 days, and its maximal volume expansion after exposure for 4 days is 3.5+/-0.5%. The cubic lattice of Pd3Cm does not become amorphous even after exposure for 200 days. The factors affecting kinetics of self-irradiation of curium intermetallic compounds are analyzed.