COMBUSTION SYNTHESIS OF LIGA AND LIAL INTERMETALLIC ALLOYS

LiAl and LiGa intermetalic alloys have been synthesized using the simu ltaneous combustion mode of combustion synthesis. LiAl intermetallic i s potentially suitable as a temper alloy for producing aluminum-lithiu m alloys and as an anodic material for high-energy batteries. LiGa can be used as a reduction alloy to recover valuable reactive metals from molten salt effluent in actinide recovery technology. The effects of particle size, preignition heating rate, and theoretical green density on the ignition and combustion temperatures have been studied in an e ffort to more precisely control the synthesis reaction of these interm etallics. A lithium particle size of -20 mu m was found to be suitable when the combustion synthesis reaction was conducted at a high heatin g rate (>1.0 degrees C/s) and a moderate green density (55 to 65 pet t heoretical). Pre-ignition diffusion is suggested as the cause for low exothermic heat release at high green densities. A combustion temperat ure above the melting point of the LiGa intermetallic compound can be achieved under optimized conditions. However, the exothermicity and, t herefore, the adiabatic temperature is too low for either LiAl or LiGa to be produced by the propagating mode of combustion synthesis.