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Isotope‐specific analysis of neutron‐irradiated lithium aluminate ceramics by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
Author(s) -
Cho Herman,
Burgeson Ingrid E.,
Adami Susan R.,
Sinkov Sergey I.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/jace.17416
Subject(s) - tritium , radiochemistry , lithium (medication) , aluminate , ceramic , irradiation , spectroscopy , isotope , materials science , chemistry , neutron , nuclear chemistry , nuclear physics , metallurgy , medicine , physics , quantum mechanics , cement , endocrinology
The effects of neutron irradiation on lithium aluminate ceramics and the transport and incorporation of tritium into surrounding components are primary concerns in the development of materials for use in tritium production. The high specific activity and volatility of the tritium in activated samples greatly increase the challenges of experimental analysis. This paper reports the determination of structural forms and concentrations of 3 H and 6 Li in irradiated and nonirradiated LiAlO 2 by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The experiments find tritium uniformly distributed in hydroxyl groups bridging aluminum centers and lithium in four‐ and six‐coordinated sites. These results demonstrate that measurements can be performed in a nondestructive, safe manner to obtain isotope‐selective, quantitative information even on highly hazardous materials.