Fusion energy offers the prospect of a safe, low-carbon source of baseload electricity, but achieving this requires materials that can withstand extreme operating environments. In breeder blanket systems, understanding the behaviour of light elements, particularly hydrogen isotopes and lithium, is essential. Tritium retention affects both fuel-cycle efficiency and safety, while interactions with lithium can contribute to material degradation and ultimately limit component lifetime. Despite their importance, light elements remain challenging to characterise using conventional analytical techniques.
This project will develop and apply atom probe tomography (APT) and nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) methods to study hydrogen isotope trapping and lithium corrosion in breeder blanket materials. By linking the distribution of light elements to microstructural features such as grain boundaries, interfaces and precipitates, the project will provide new insight into the mechanisms governing tritium retention and material degradation. The work will also improve approaches for the quantitative analysis of light elements using both techniques, helping to expand the experimental toolkit available for fusion materials research.
The project forms part of the TRITIMAP collaboration between UKAEA and the University of Oxford, which is establishing new capabilities for measuring and mapping hydrogen isotopes in materials across multiple length scales. The research will make use of, and contribute to, the TRITIMAP facility, developing correlative APT and NanoSIMS workflows that can be applied to a range of fusion material challenges.
