Uranium oxide is an

oxide An oxide () is a chemical compound containing at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion (anion bearing a net charge of −2) of oxygen, an O2− ion with oxygen in the oxidation st ...

of the element

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

. The metal uranium forms several oxides: *

Uranium dioxide Uranium dioxide or uranium(IV) oxide (), also known as urania or uranous oxide, is an oxide of uranium, and is a black, radioactive, crystalline powder that naturally occurs in the mineral uraninite. It is used in nuclear fuel rods in nuclear reac ...

or uranium(IV) oxide (UO₂, the mineral

uraninite Uraninite, also known as pitchblende, is a radioactive, uranium-rich mineral and ore with a chemical composition that is largely UO2 but because of oxidation typically contains variable proportions of U3O8. Radioactive decay of the uranium c ...

or pitchblende) * Diuranium pentoxide or uranium(V) oxide (U₂O₅) * Uranium trioxide or uranium(VI) oxide (UO₃) * Triuranium octoxide (U₃O₈), the most stable uranium oxide; yellowcake typically contains 70 to 90 percent triuranium octoxide) * Uranyl peroxide (UO₂O₂ or UO₄) * Amorphous uranium(VI) oxide (''Am''-U₂O₇) Uranium dioxide is

oxidized Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...

in contact with

oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

to form triuranium octoxide. :3 UO₂ + O₂ → U₃O₈ at 250 °C (523 K)

Preparation 38

During World War II, "Preparation 38" was the codename for uranium oxide used by German scientists.

References

Oxides Uranium compounds {{inorganic-compound-stub