Study of Sorption Properties of Intermetallic Compounds ZrCrFe and ZrCo to Assess Its Applicability in the Fuel Cycle Systems of Fusion Facilities

The usefulness of hydride-forming materials in hydrogen isotope storage systems and the possibility of their usage in other systems of the fusion fuel cycle (for example, in a hydrogen isotope separation system or for analytical equipment) determine the relevance of studies of the properties of metals and intermetallic compounds (IMCs). The disadvantages of uranium, which is currently used for the hydrogen storage, and palladium, which is used for hydrogen isotopes separation, lead to the need to search for alternatives. The paper presents the results of a study of the interaction of hydrogen isotopes (protium and deuterium) with the IMC ZrCrFe. The sorption isotherms obtained by the Sieverts volumetric method in the temperature range of 273–323 K were used to estimate the parameters practically significant for the storage and separation of hydrogen isotopes: sorption capacity, equilibrium pressure, separation coefficients, thermodynamic parameters of the hydrogenation reaction. To confirm the reliability of the experimental and computational methods, the properties of the well-studied ZrCo material were measured and the results obtained were compared with the published data. The studied sorption properties of the ZrCrFe intermetallic compound demonstrate the applicability of this material for the separation of hydrogen isotopes, since it is characterized by a significant separation coefficient (α HD = 1.22 ± 0.06 at a temperature of 298 K), low stability of hydride and deuteride, and high sorption capacity.