Fabrication and improvement of the density of Li2TiO3 pebbles by the optimization of a sol–gel method

Li2TiO3 is regarded as a promising candidate breeder in solid blanket concepts. Pebble configuration has been a preferred option due to its potential advantages in blanket design. Li2TiO3 pebbles were successfully fabricated by a water-based sol–gel method previously. However, the sintered density of the pebbles was very low (less than 70% theoretical density). The process parameters were optimized and the sintered density of the pebbles was improved significantly in this work. Li2TiO3 pebbles with density as high as 85% were obtained at a relatively lower sintering temperature (1100 °C) and shorter sintering time (4 h). The experimental results showed that the viscosity of the sol was influential to the sphericity of the gel-spheres and thus the sintered pebbles. The variety of lithium source, the pH value of the solution and the sintering conditions demonstrated significant influences on the microstructure and density of the sintered Li2TiO3 pebbles.