New Phases in Brown Ceramics of Chornobyl Lava. Article Publication in the Journal of Nuclear Materials

    The article “New Phases in Brown Ceramics of Chornobyl Lava” has undergone a thorough peer-review process and has been accepted in the leading international Journal in the field of nuclear science and technology Journal of Nuclear Materials. The article was prepared by the researchers of the Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants of the NAS of Ukraine S. V. Gabielkov, I. V. Zhyganiuk, V. G. Kudlai, B. S. Savchenko, P. E. Parkhomchuk, and S. O. Chikolovets. According to the 2017–2023 impact factor calculations and the scientometric ranking of the SCImago Journal and Country Rank (Scopus), the Journal of Nuclear Materials is ranked in the first quartile (Q1) in three categories: Materials Science, Nuclear and High Energy Physics, and Nuclear Energy and Engineering.

     The objectives of this work were:

• replenishment of data on the phase composition of brown ceramics of the LFCM of the 4th unit of the Chornobyl NPP 39 years after the accident;
• identification of chemical and physical processes that led to a change in state and ensured the formation of new crystalline phases in brown ceramics of LFCM over the period from the accident to the present day.

     The results obtained will be used to predict the behavior and develop methods and technologies for management fuel-containing materials that were formed as a result of accidents at the Chornobyl and Fukushima nuclear power plants.

     The article represents a further and consistent step toward establishing the global priority of Ukrainian scientists in the field of the Chornobyl NPP high-level radioactive waste management.

     The work was carried out within the framework of a state-funded project of the NAS of Ukraine (No. 0120U103480).

     The authors express their gratitude to the reviewers for their high evaluation of the obtained results, as well as to the editorial board of the Journal of Nuclear Materials for organizing a high-quality peer-review process.

     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2025.155893