Application of novel ceramic synthesis to the development of lithium-containing fuels for nuclear fusion

核聚变是一种有吸引力的裂变替代方案，因为它提供了不产生温室气体和长寿命放射性废物的发电潜力。采用核聚变技术的最大挑战之一在于开发出能够承受核聚变反应堆极端环境的材料，在这种环境中，氢、氘和氚的同位素会融合在一起，释放出巨大的能量。有人提议，氚将在聚变反应堆内产生，在一个称为增殖毯的区域，含锂陶瓷作为氚增殖材料的候选材料。从增殖反应堆中提取氚取决于增殖材料的密度，据报道，在理论密度为bb0 - 90%的样品中，氚的回收率最佳。锂与空气反应，因此很难用标准方法生产致密的陶瓷。此外，在标准方法生产的锂陶瓷中观察到纳米级缺陷，这可能对这些材料作为聚变燃料的适用性产生严重影响。在谢菲尔德大学，我们开发了新的低温合成方法，在生产致密的锂陶瓷方面显示出很大的希望。本项目将探索使用这些方法来生产无缺陷、致密的锂陶瓷用于熔合。一旦制造完成，这些材料的反应堆内性能将通过实验模拟聚变环境对材料的影响的技术来确定。

Nuclear fusion is an attractive alternative to fission because it offers the potential for power generation without the production of greenhouse gases and long-lived radioactive waste. One of the greatest challenges in adopting fusion lies in developing materials that can withstand the extreme environment of a fusion reactor, where isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium, will fuse together, releasing enormous amounts of energy. It is proposed that tritium will be produced within the fusion reactor, in a region called the breeder blanket, with lithium-containing ceramics as candidates for the tritium breeder material. Tritium extraction from the breeder is dependent on breeder material density, with optimum tritium recovery reported in samples with >90% of theoretical density. Lithium reacts with air and so it is difficult to produce dense ceramics using standard methods. Furthermore, nano-scale defects have been observed in Li-ceramics produced by standard methods, which could have serious implications for the suitability of these materials as a fuel for fusion. At the University of Sheffield, we have developed novel low-temperature synthesis methods, which show great promise in producing dense, Li-ceramics. This project will explore the use of these methods to produce defect free, dense Li-ceramics for fusion. Once fabricated, the in-reactor performance of these materials will be determined using techniques that simulate experimentally the impact of the fusion environment on materials.