Tritium diffusion in rutile (TiO2)

Abstract

The diffusivity of tritium in rutile single crystals has been measured parallel to the a and c axes in the temperature range 250–900 °C. Raman‐scattering measurements were also made to aid in identifying a nonpolar tritium species involved in the diffusion process. Two species, OT⁻ ions and T₂ molecules, are involved in tritium migration. The OT⁻ ions dissociate preceding each tritium jump. Along the a axis the T₂ molecules diffuse four orders of magnitude slower than the T⁺ ions associated with OT⁻. No dependency of the tritium diffusivity upon the rutile defect structure was observed.