Probing the Radial Chemistry of Getter Components in Light Water Reactors via Controlled Electrochemical Dissolution.

Getters are among the key functional components in the tritium-producing burnable absorber rods (TPBARs) of light water reactors (LWRs) and are used to capture the released tritium gas. They are nickel-plated zircaloy-4 tubes that, upon exposure to irradiation or tritium in the light water reactors, undergo alteration in structure, chemical composition, and chemistry. Understanding the radial tritium distribution is key to gaining insight into the evolution of new chemistry upon irradiation to predict getter performance.

Redox-Based Electrochemical Affinity Sensor for Detection of Aqueous Pertechnetate Anion.

Rapid, selective, and in situ detection of pertechnetate (TcO) in multicomponent matrices consisting of interfering anions such as the ubiquitous NO and Cl or the isostructural CrO is challenging. Present sensors lack the selectivities to exclude these interferences or the sensitivities to meet detection limits that are lower than the drinking water standards across the globe. This work presents an affinity-based electrochemical sensor for TcO detection that relies on selective reductive precipitation of aqueous TcO induced by a 1,4-benzenedimethanethiol capture probe immobilized on an electrode platform.

An electrochemical technique for controlled dissolution of zirconium based components of light water reactors.

Zircaloy-4 (Zr-4) based liners and getters are the principle functional components of Tritium-Producing Burnable Absorber Rods (TPBARs) in light water nuclear reactors where they reduce tritiated water into tritium gas. Upon tritium exposure, zirconium tritide is formed, which changes the chemical composition, structure and morphology of these materials. Their thermodynamic properties are affected by (i) the hydride phase identity, (ii) radial and spatial tritide/hydride (T/H) distribution, and (iii) the changes in structure and morphology of the material upon T/H-migration, and their comprehensive knowledge is needed to predict performance of these materials.