Department of Surface Processes

The why? The how? The what?

The ultimate goal of our research, driven by scientific curiosity, is to gain fundamental and independent knowledge of the (geo)chemistry and environmental fate of long-lived radionuclides (RNs). One prominent and socially important application is the safe disposal of radioactive waste, to aid future generations in the responsibility of dealing with “our” legacy from energy production in nuclear reactors.

For this purpose we provide the radiochemical knowledge, namely structural and mechanistic data of important mobilizing and immobilizing reactions of RNs in solution, at interfaces, and in solids.

Our particular focus is using a variety of established and advanced microscopic and spectroscopic techniques, to accurately describe complex formation reactions and complex structures that govern RN interactions in the geosphere. In addition, we investigate the creation and chemical speciation of activation products in materials from nuclear power plants in the context of their safe decommissioning.

As part of a value chain, the derived structural information forms a sound basis for a reliable thermodynamic description of the investigated systems, which can be integrated in thermodynamic databases. The thermodynamic work is done in close collaboration with the department of Actinide thermodynamics.

Our core competencies

• Chemistry of long-lived RNs – Expertise in handling RNs, ranging from fission- and activation products to transuranium elements, and access to radiation safety labs.
• Structural characterization – Expertise in applying and coupling spectroscopic and microscopic as well as diffraction techniques for accessing molecular information.
• Thermodynamic description of RN complexes – Using macroscopic, spectroscopic, and calorimetric information of reactant-water-surface phenomena as basis for the derivation of surface complexation models and their thermodynamic parameters.

Research fields

• Coordination chemistry of RNs in aqueous solution and in human artificial biofluids, e.g. RADEKOR project.
• Molecular characterization of RN reactions at natural and engineered mineral-water interfaces.
• Incorporation of actinides and lanthanides in solid phases, e.g. AcE project.
• Environmental technetium chemistry., e.g. Young Investigator Group TecRad.
• Development of a method for pre-activity and dose rate calculations of components in the reactor vicinity based on neutron fluence distributions (EMPRADO) 12/2018 –11/2022, BMBF.

Latest Publication

A list of publications can be found here.

Research groups

• Incorporation in solid phases
• NukSiFutur Young investigators group TecRad

Currently running third-party funded projects

• Interactions of technetium with microorganisms, metabolites and at the mineral-water interface – Radioecological considerations (TecRad) 07/2022 – 06/2027, BMBF
• Speciation and transfer of radionuclides in the human organism especially taking into account decorporation agents (RADEKOR) 07/2020 – 12/2023, BMBF.
• Fundamental investigations of actinide immobilization by incorporation into solid phases relevant for final disposal (AcE) 01/2021 – 12/2023, BMBF.
• Means for efficient decommissioning of reactor components and concrete shielding: Calculation of the activity inventory and their validation on drilling cores as well as mobility investigations of radionuclides (WERREBA) 07/2019 – 12/2022, BMBF.

An overview of finished projects can be found here.

Staff

Head
Name	Bld./Office	+49 351 260	Email
Dr. Katharina Müller	801/P248	2439	k.muellerhzdr.de
Employees
Name	Bld./Office	+49 351 260	Email
Caroline Börner			c.boernerhzdr.de
Arkadz Bureika	801/P201	2434	a.bureikahzdr.de
Daniel Butscher	801/P352	3154	d.butscherhzdr.de
Irene Cardaio	801/P254	2251	i.cardaiohzdr.de
Aline Chlupka	801/P203	3198 2518 2523	a.chlupkahzdr.de
Sebastian Friedrich	801/P352	3154	s.friedrichhzdr.de
Isabelle Jessat	801/P352	3328	i.jessathzdr.de
Dr. Norbert Jordan	801/P218	2148	n.jordanhzdr.de
Dr. Natalia Mayordomo Herranz	801/P252	2076	n.mayordomo-herranzhzdr.de
Christa Müller		3198 2538	c.muellerhzdr.de
Selina Richter			s.richterhzdr.de
Stephan Weiß	801/P316	2758 2523	s.weisshzdr.de
Incorporation in solid phases
Name	Bld./Office	+49 351 260	Email
Dr. Nina Maria Huittinen	801/P218	2148	n.huittinenhzdr.de
Dr. Astrid Barkleit	801/P207	3136 2512 2518	a.barkleithzdr.de
Luiza Braga Ferreira dos Santos	801/P254	3487	l.bragahzdr.de
Dr. Sara Gilson	801/P352	3154	s.gilsonhzdr.de

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Alumni

Name	at HZDR	Derzeitigte Institution
Quirina Isabella Roode-Gutzmer	Ph.D. student	Fraunhofer-Institut für Keramische Technologien und Systeme IKTS
Maximilian Demnitz	Ph.D. student, graduated 2022	Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Het
Diana Marcela Rodriguez Hernandez	Ph.D. student, graduated 2021	Rotop Pharmaka GmbH
Henry Lösch	Ph.D. student, graduated 2021	Radiation Protection, Analytics & Disposal (VKTA)
Manuel Eibl	Ph.D. student, graduated 2020	Avantgarde Labs GmbH
Susanne Lehmann	Ph.D. student, graduated 2020	Institute for Geosciences at the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena