Heterogeneous Structure, Mechanisms of Counterion Exchange, and the Spacer Salt Effect in Complex Molten Salt Mixtures Including LaCl.

Complex molten chloride salt mixtures of uranium, magnesium, and sodium are top candidates for promising nuclear energy technologies to produce electricity based on molten salt reactors. From a local structural perspective, LaCl is similar to UCl and hence a good proxy to study these complex salt mixtures. As fission products, lanthanide salts and their mixtures are also very important in their own right. This article describes from an experimental and theory perspective how very different the structural roles of MgCl and NaCl are in mixtures with LaCl. We find that, whereas MgCl becomes an integral part of multivalent ionic networks, NaCl separates them. In a recent article ( , , 21751-21762) we have called the disruptive behavior of NaCl "the spacer salt effect". Because of the heterogeneous nature of these salt mixtures, there are multiple structural motifs in the melt, each with its particular free energetics. Our work identifies and quantifies these; it also elucidates the mechanisms through which Cl ions exchange between Mg-rich and La-rich environments.