The effect of Li2O addition on precipitation behavior of uranium in LiCl-KCl-UCl3 has been investigated in this study. 99.99% LiCl-KCl eutectic salt is mixed with 10wt% UCl3 chips at 550°C in the Pyrex tube in argon atmosphere glove box, with 10 ppm O2 and 1 ppm H2O. Then, Li2O chunks are added in mixed LiCl-KCl-UCl3 and the system has been cooled down to room temperature for 10 hours to form enough UO2 particles in the salt. The solid salt has been taken out from the glove box, and cut into three sections (top, middle and bottom) by low-speed saw for further microscopic analysis. Three pieces of solid salt are dissolved in deionized water at room temperature and the solution is filtered by a filter paper to collect non-dissolved particles. The filter paper with particles is baked in vacuum oven at 120°C for 6 hours to evaporate remaining moisture from the filter paper. Further analysis was performed for the powder remaining on the filter paper, and periphery of the powder (cake) on the filter paper. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron diffraction spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) are adopted to analysis the characteristic of the particles. From SEM analysis, the powders are consisted of small particles which have 5 to 10 m diameter, and EDS analysis shows they are likely UO2 with 23 at. % of uranium and 77 at. % oxygen. Cake is also analyzed by SEM and EDS, and needle like structures are widely observed on the particle. The length of needle is distributed from 5 to 20 m, and it has 6 to 10 at. % of chlorine, which are not fully dissolved into deionized water at room temperature. From XRD analysis, the particles show the peak position of UO2, and the result is well matched with the SEM-EDS results. We are planning to add more Li2O in the system for fully reacting uranium in UCl3, and compare the results to find the effect of Li2O concentration on UO2 precipitation.

Piezoelectric ceramic specimens with the Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.65Ti0.35O3 (PMN-PT) composition are prepared by the solid state reaction method known as the “columbite precursor” method. Moreover, the effects of the Li2O-Bi2O3 additive on the microstructure, crystal structure, and piezoelectric properties of sintered PMN-PT ceramic samples are investigated. The addition of Li2O-Bi2O3 lowers the sintering temperature from 1,200oC to 950oC. Moreover, with the addition of >5 wt.% additive, the crystal structure changes from tetragonal to rhombohedral. Notably, the sample with 3 wt.% additive exhibits excellent piezoelectric properties (d33 = 596 pC/N and Kp = 57%) and a sintered density of 7.92 g/cm3 after sintering at 950oC. In addition, the sample exhibits a curie temperature of 138.6oC at 1 kHz. Finally, the compatibility of the sample with a Cu electrode is examined, because the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy data indicate the absence of interdiffusion between Cu and the ceramic material.

FeS2 has been widely used for cathode materials in thermal battery because of its high stability and currentcapability at high operation temperature. Salts such as a LiCl-KCl were added as a binder for improving electrical per-formance and formability of FeS2 cathode powder. In this study, the effects of the addition of Li2O in LiCl-KCl binderon the formability of FeS2 powder compact were investigated. With the increasing amount of Li2O addition to LiCl-KClbinder salts, the strength of the pressed compacts increased considerably when the powder mixture were pre-heat-treatedabove 350oC. The heat-treatment resulted in promoting the coating coverage of FeS2 particles by the salts as Li2O wasadded. The observed coating as Li2O addition might be attributed to the enhanced wettability of the salt rather than itsreduced melting temperature. The high strength of compacts by the Li2O addition and pre-heat-treatment could improvethe formability of FeS2 raw materials.

Glass-ceramics were fabricated by heat-treatment of glass obtained by melting a coal bottom ash with Li2O addition. The main crystal grown in the glass-ceramics, containing 10 wt% Li2O, was β-spodumene solid solution, while in Li2O 20 wt% specimen was mullite, identified using XRD. The activation energy and Avrami constant for crystallization were calculated and showed that bulk crystallization behavior will be predominant, and this expectation agreed with the microstructural observations. The crystal phase grown in Li2O 10 wt% glass-ceramics had a dendrite-like shaped whereas the shape was flake-like in the 20 wt% case. The thermal expansion coefficient of the Li2O 10 wt% glass-ceramics was lower than that of the glass having the same composition, owing to the formation of a β-spodumene phase. For example, the thermal expansion coefficient of Li2O 10 wt% glass-ceramics was 20×10-7, which is enough for application in various heat-resistance fields. But above 20 wt% Li2O, the thermal coefficient expansion of glass-ceramics, on the contrary, was higher than that of the same composition glass, due to formation of mullite.