uranium hexafluoride

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. a colorless, water-insoluble, crystalline, volatile solid, UF 6 , used in its gaseous state in separating uranium 235 from uranium.

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uranium hexafluoride British  

/ ˌhɛksəˈflʊəˌraɪd /

noun

1. a compound used in the process of uranium enrichment that produces fissile material for nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Formula: UF 6

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Etymology

Origin of uranium hexafluoride

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

It also announced on Tuesday evening the expansion of uranium hexafluoride production to “over 10 kilotonnes” annually, up some 20% from its 2024 output.

From Barron's • Feb. 11, 2026

It said the worker died from a "mechanical injury" caused by a breach in a container of uranium hexafluoride, a chemical compound used in uranium enrichment.

From Reuters • Jul. 14, 2023

AP also tracked millions of dollars worth of shipments of radioactive uranium hexafluoride from Russian state-owned Tenex JSC, the world’s largest exporter of initial nuclear fuel cycle products, to Westinghouse Electric Co. in South Carolina.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 24, 2022

Enriched uranium is produced by feeding uranium hexafluoride gas into centrifuges to separate out the most suitable isotope for nuclear fission, called U-235.

From BBC • Jan. 1, 2021

The main obstacle for the diffusion process being developed by Urey was its reliance on uranium hexafluoride gas, the detestable “hex,” which lived up to its nickname by severely corroding every permeable barrier Urey tried.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik