Chemical stability of LiYO2 as an insulating material

Y2O3 insulating coating is under development to mitigate the MHD pressure drop in Li blanket system. The problem in the development is that Y2O3 coating forms LiYO2 in high temperature Li and properties of LiYO2 are not investigated. In this study LiYO2 was synthesized by two methods to research its characteristics. XRD analysis shows pure LiYO2 can be obtained from Li2O and Y2O3 by reaction in liquid Li. Then, primary tests for chemical stability and electrical conductivity were carried out. These experiments suggested LiYO2 is stable in Li and its electrical resistivity is lower than Y2O3.