Li6La3Ta1.5Y0.5O12 solid-state lithium sensor for molten alloys

Different breeding blankets are proposed for tritium generation in nuclear fusion reactors. Some of the proposed strategies are based on the molten eutectic alloy Lithium - Lead. Since lithium will be consumed, this alloy's physical and chemical properties will vary as its composition changes....

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Hinojo, Antonio, Nel-lo, Marc, Colominas, Sergi, Abella, Jordi
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:20.500.14342/5303
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14342/5303
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2022.113402
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Liquid blanket
Lithium conducting ceramics
sensor
lithium
tritium
546
Descripción
Sumario:Different breeding blankets are proposed for tritium generation in nuclear fusion reactors. Some of the proposed strategies are based on the molten eutectic alloy Lithium - Lead. Since lithium will be consumed, this alloy's physical and chemical properties will vary as its composition changes. For this reason, analytical tools able to perform real-time and in-situ lithium monitoring are of great interest. Electrochemical sensors, based on lithium conducting solid-state electrolytes, are good candidates to fulfil these requirements and withstand the harsh chemical environment of the molten alloy. In this work, the synthesis and sintering conditions of the solid-state electrolyte Li6La3Ta1.5Y0.5O12 were optimized to obtain high-crystalline electrolyte pellets. XRD was used to verify the garnet structure needed for Li conduction. The quality of the sintering was evaluated using SEM-EDS and its ionic conductivity was measured using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) in argon, at temperatures between 30 °C and 200 °C. Finally, a lithium sensor was constructed and used in molten alloys. The obtained results were in good agreement with potentials calculated using the Nernst equation.