Thermodynamic study of gaseous CsBO2 by Knudsen effusion mass spectrometry

One of the main chemical forms of cesium in the gas phase during severe light-water reactor accidents is expected to be cesium metaborate, CsBO2, according to thermodynamic equilibrium calculations considering its reaction with boron. However, the accuracy of the thermodynamic data of the gaseous metaborate, CsBO2(g), has been judged as poor. Thus, Knudsen effusion mass spectrometric measurements of CsBO2 were carried out to obtain reliable thermodynamic data. The evaluated values of the standard enthalpy of formation of CsBO2(g), obtained by the 2nd and 3rd-law treatments, are −700.7 ± 10.7 kJ/mol and −697.0 ± 10.6 kJ/mol, respectively, and agree with each other within the experimental errors, which indicates that our data are reliable. Furthermore, it was found that the existing data of the Gibbs energy function and the standard enthalpy of formation agreed well with the values evaluated in this study, which indicates that the existing thermodynamic data are also reliable.