Corrosion resistance of ceramic candidates for tritium permeation barriers exposed to molten lithium.

• Thermodynamic calculations predict chemical stabilities of ceramics in liquid lithium. • Experiments of static compatibility between liquid lithium and four ceramics are carried out. • The tritium permeation barriers adapted to liquid lithium or alloy fluids should employ rare earth oxides, metallic nitrides and other non-oxide ceramics. For the design of liquid lithium first wall in future fusion reactor, chemical compatibility between the tritium permeation barrier (TPB) and liquid lithium should be studied preferentially. The redox reaction is studied from the perspective of thermodynamics at different temperature, which indicates that metallic nitrides and rare earth oxides are predictable to provide higher stability in lithium corrosion situation. Then static compatibilities of Al 2 O 3 , AlN, SiC and Er 2 O 3 ceramics with liquid lithium are tested. The surface analysis of TPB and lithium droplets shows that Al 2 O 3 ceramic could react with molten Li, though it is considered as the preferred candidate of TPB for its easy fabrication, low cost, and self-repair ability. However, the other three ceramics did not show any reduction product peak, indicating the high stability with liquid lithium. These results provide meaningful compatibility with liquid Li and valuable reference in engineering design of structural and TPB materials for future fusion device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]