Fabrication and characterization of Li4SiO4 ceramic pebbles by wet method

Abstract Li 4 SiO 4 (lithium orthosilicate) is an important tritium breeder for fusion blanket concept. In test blanket module (TBM) design of China, Li 4 SiO 4 ceramic pebbles have been selected as the first candidate material of tritium breeders. The fabrication process and properties of the pebbles have been investigated. Wet method is used to fabricate Li 4 SiO 4 ceramic pebbles. XRD results show that Li 4 SiO 4 with a high phase purity has been prepared by wet method. SEM photographs indicate that the pebbles have porous structure and small grain size. Li 4 SiO 4 ceramic pebbles, which were sintered at 1020 °C, have good properties, such as small diameter (0.5–0.8 mm), high density (over 80% TD), good sphericity (1.02) and large crush load (a.v, 20 N). The results show that Li 4 SiO 4 ceramic pebbles can be successfully fabricated by wet method, under the appropriate conditions of solid/liquid ratio and sintering temperature.