Autocatalytic tritium adsorption in niobiumand tantalum at room temperature

Tantalum and niobium foil covered with a natural oxide skin is exposed to tritium (T 2) gas at a pressure of about 1 bar at room temperature for up to 18 days. In contrast to similar experiments with hydrogen an uptake of tritium is observed. This effect is ascribed to the dissociation of physisorbe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the less-common metals 1991, Vol.172, p.1345-1351
Main Authors: Schober, T., Iniotakis, N.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Tantalum and niobium foil covered with a natural oxide skin is exposed to tritium (T 2) gas at a pressure of about 1 bar at room temperature for up to 18 days. In contrast to similar experiments with hydrogen an uptake of tritium is observed. This effect is ascribed to the dissociation of physisorbed T 2 molecules by decay-produced electrons and X-rays. Atomic tritium is then incorporated into the oxide layer and the bulk. Theoretical modelling produces a good fit to the experimental data. Several material parameters are extracted from the model. Exothermic occluders of hydrogen are generally expected to absorb tritium from the gas phase at room temperature owing to the above autocatalytic surface effect.
ISSN:0022-5088
DOI:10.1016/S0022-5088(06)80045-7