Development of fabrication technologies for advanced tritium breeder pebbles by the sol–gel method.

Highlights: [•] Li2TiO3 with excess Li (Li2+x TiO3+y ) was developed as an advanced tritium breeder. [•] Pebble fabrication by the sol–gel method is a promising technique for the mass production of advanced tritium breeder pebbles. [•] To increase the density of the sintered Li2+x TiO3+y pebbles, the sintering temperature was changed. [•] At 1353K, the density of the pebbles increased to approximately 85% T.D. without any increase in the grain size. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]