Abstract
This paper examines in situ spectroscopic measurements of nuclear-excited plasma of noble gases excited by 6Li(n,α)3H nuclear reaction products in the core of a nuclear reactor. A thin layer of lithium applied on the walls of the experimental device, stabilized in the matrix of the capillary-porous structure, serves as a source of gas excitation. During in-pile tests conducted at the IGR research reactor, thermal neutrons interact via the 6Li(n,α)3H reaction, and the emergent α-particles with a kinetic energy of 2.05 MeV and tritium ions with a kinetic energy of 2.73 MeV excite the noble gas (Ar) medium. The intensity of tritium release from the lithium layer in noble gases was estimated by the intensity of the α-line of the Balmer series of the tritium atom 3Hα (656.2 nm). A tritium release was observed at 710 K due to the beginning of desorption of thermalized tritium atoms dissolved in the liquid phase of lithium. The results are of interest in terms of clarifying the mechanisms and developing models that allow for describing the processes of generation, diffusion, and release of tritium from lithium during neutron irradiation.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan under the scientific and technical program, “Development of Nuclear Energy in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2021–2023 Years” (IRN-BR09158470).
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.