Efforts to Consolidate Chalcogels with Adsorbed Iodine
This document discusses ongoing work with non-oxide aerogels, called chalcogels, that are under development at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as sorbents for gaseous iodine. Work was conducted in fiscal year 2012 to demonstrate the feasibility of converting Sn2S3 chalcogel without iodine into a glass. This current document summarizes the work conducted in fiscal year 2013 to assess the consolidation potential of non-oxide aerogels with adsorbed iodine. The Sn2S3 and Sb13.5Sn5S20 chalcogels were selected for study. The first step in the process for these experiments was to load them with iodine (I2). The I2 uptake was ~68 mass% for Sn2S3 and ~50 mass% for Sb13.5Sn5S20 chalcogels. X-ray diffraction (XRD) of both sets of sorbents showed that metal-iodide complexes were formed during adsorption, i.e., SnI4 for Sn2S3 and SbI3 for Sb13.5Sn5S20. Additionally, metal-sulfide-iodide complexes were formed, i.e., SnSI for Sn2S3 and SbSI for Sb13.5Sn5S20. No XRD evidence for unreacted iodine was found in any of these samples. Once the chalcogels had reached maximum adsorption, the consolidation potential was assessed. Here, the sorbents were heated for consolidation in vacuum-sealed quartz vessels. The Sb13.5Sn5S20 chalcogel was heated both (1) in a glassy carbon crucible within a fused quartz tube and (2) in a single-containment fused quartz tube. The Sn2S3 chalcogel was only heated in a single-containment fused quartz tube. In both cases with the single-containment fused quartz experiments, the material consolidated nicely. However, in both cases, there were small fractions of metal iodides not incorporated into the final product as well as fused quartz particles within the melt due to the sample attacking the quartz wall during the heat treatment. The Sb13.5Sn5S20 did not appear to attack the glassy carbon crucible so, for future experiments, it would be ideal to apply a coating, such as pyrolytic graphite, to the inner walls of the fused quartz vessel to prevent melt attack.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1097940
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-22678; AF5805000
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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