Thermodynamics and Surface Interactions of Lithium Hydride Systems

Abstract

Liquid lithium has been considered as a plasma-facing component (PFC) for use in nuclear fusion applications because it effectively uptakes incident particles, does not undergo long-term physical damage, and can be recycled. However, a number of obstacles lie in the way of its implementation in a plasma fusion reactor. Two particular obstacles are the need to develop a separation procedure of Li from hydrogen isotopes, which implant themselves in the PFC during operation of fusion and the lack of knowledge about the surface chemistry of Li and LiH thin films. This work will address these two problems, providing an analysis of thermodynamic data related to lithium hydride, deuteride, and tritide to recommend conditions at which separation should most effectively occur and presenting temperature programmed desorption (TPD) data of Li and LiD thin films to understand the kinetics of desorption of these films on an atomic scale.