Study of the tritium behavior on the surface of Li2O by means of work function measurement

Abstract In the present study, the work function change of Li 2 O due to change of oxygen potential of sweep gas was investigated by measuring the contact potential difference (CPD) between Li 2 O and Pt electrodes with a so-called `high temperature Kelvin probe'. The CPD change for Li 2 O was generally insensitive to the oxygen partial pressure in the sweep gas. A similar insensitivity was also observed for LiAlO 2 . Although the CPD change of Li 2 O was about 200 mV when the oxygen partial pressure was changed by as much as 15 orders of magnitude, such was not the case for LiAlO 2 . By comparing with the results obtained for other Li-bearing ceramics, it was estimated to be caused by the adsorption/desorption processes of water vapor contained in the sweep gas.