Measurement of europium (III)/europium (II) couple in fluoride molten salt for redox control in a molten salt reactor concept

JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS

卷:496

Article

Guo, Shaoqiang^1,2  Shay, Nikolas²  Wang, Yafei¹  Zhou, Wentao²  Zhang, Jinsuo^1,2 

[1] Virginia Polytech Inst & State Univ, Dept Mech Engn, Nucl Engn Program, Blacksburg, VA 24060 USA

[2] Ohio State Univ, Dept Mech & Aerosp Engn, Nucl Engn Program, Columbus, OH 43210 USA

关键词: Fluoride molten salt;    Europium;    Redox control;    Cyclic voltammetry;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jnucmat.2017.09.027

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

The fluoride molten salt such as FLiNaK and FLiBe is one of the coolant candidates for the next generation nuclear reactor concepts, for example, the fluoride salt cooled high temperature reactor (FHR). For mitigating corrosion of structural materials in molten fluoride salt, the redox condition of the salts needs to be monitored and controlled. This study investigates the feasibility of applying the Eu3+/Eu2+ couple for redox control. Cyclic voltammetry measurements of the Eu3+/Eu2+ couple were able to obtain the concentrations ratio of Eu3+/Eu2+ in the melt. Additionally, the formal standard potential of Eu3+/Eu2+ was characterized over the FHR's operating temperatures allowing for the application of the Nernst equation to establish a Eu3+/Eu2+ concentration ratio below 0.05 to prevent corrosion of candidate structural materials. A platinum quasi-reference electrode with potential calibrated by potassium reduction potential is shown as reliable for the redox potential measurement. These results show that the Eu3+/Eu2+ couple is a feasible redox buffering agent to control the redox condition in molten fluoride salts. Published by Elsevier B.V.

【 授权许可】

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