Citation

Rethinasabapathy M, Ghoreishian SM, Hwang SK, Han YK, Roh C, Huh YS. Adv. Mater. 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/adma.202301589

PMID

37435972

Abstract

Tritium is a sustainable next-generation prime fuel for generating nuclear energy through fusion reactions to fulfill the increasing global energy demand. Owing to the scarcity-high demand tradeoff, tritium must be bred inside a fusion reactor to ensure sustainability and must therefore be separated from its isotopes (protium and deuterium) in pure form, stored safely, and supplied on demand. Existing multistage isotope separation technologies exhibit low separation efficiency and require intensive energy inputs and large capital investments. Furthermore, tritium-contaminated heavy water constitutes a major fraction of nuclear waste, and accidents like the one at Fukushima Daiichi leave behind thousands of tons of diluted tritiated water, whose removal is beneficial from an environmental point of view. In this review, we discuss the recent progress and main research trends in hydrogen isotope storage and separation by focusing on the use of metal hydride (e.g., intermetallic, and high-entropy alloys), porous (e.g., zeolites and metal organic frameworks (MOFs)), and 2-D layered (e.g., graphene, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), and MXenes) materials to separate and store tritium based on their diverse functionalities. Finally, the challenges and future directions for implementing tritium storage and separation are summarized in the reviewed materials. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Hydrogen isotopes; Layered materials; Metal hydrides; Porous materials; Quantum sieving; Tritium separation