Deuterium permeation through erbium oxide coatings on RAFM steels by a dip-coating technique

A tritium permeation barrier is a promising solution for the problems of tritium loss and radiological safety in fusion blanket systems. In recent years, erbium oxide coatings have shown remarkable permeation reduction factors. One of the remaining issues for the coatings is the establishment of plant-scale fabrication. In this study, erbium oxide thin films have been fabricated by a dip-coating technique, which has the potential to coat a complex-shaped substrate, and deuterium permeation behavior in the coatings has been examined. Crack-free coatings were formed on a reduced activation ferritic/martensitic steel F82H substrate by use of a withdrawal speed of 1.0–1.4 mm s−1 and a heat-treatment process in hydrogen with moisture. In deuterium permeation experiments, a 0.2-μm-thick coating on both sides of the substrate showed a reduction factor of 600–700 in comparison with a F82H substrate below 873 K; however, the coating degraded at above 923 K because of crack formation. A double-coated sample indicated a reduction factor of up to 2000 and did not degrade at up to 923 K. The driving pressure dependence of the deuterium permeation flux indicated that the permeation tended to be limited by surface reactions at low temperatures. Optimization of the number of layers has the possibility to reduce degradation at high temperatures while maintaining high permeation reduction factors.