L. Montanaro et al., LITHIUM METAZIRCONATE FOR NUCLEAR APPLICATION - PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES, Journal of Materials Science, 30(17), 1995, pp. 4335-4338
Lithium metazirconate is a candidate in fusion reactor designs as a tr
itium-breeding material. An amorphous powder was synthesized by gellin
g zirconium propylate and lithium acetate: after heat treatment at 900
degrees C, pure Li2ZrO3-I was obtained. Preliminary tests made on sin
tered pellets, obtained from this powder, demonstrated an appropriate
tritium release at low temperature, when the sample porosity was about
20% and the mean pore radius 3 mu m. The subject of this paper was to
realize a good compromise between mechanical properties and the sprea
d porosity, necessary for tritium diffusion. Dilatometric investigatio
ns were performed on compacts of powders treated at 800, 900 and 1000
degrees C to identify the best temperature and time of sintering. The
calcined powders were also uniaxially pressed at 200, 300 and 500 MPa:
the green bodies were sintered at 1200, 1250 and 1300 degrees C for 2
or 4 h, in order to produce ceramics having different porosity. On th
e sintered bodies, the pore size distribution, the mean pore radius an
d mechanical properties were evaluated.