The Regulation Mechanism and Evaluation Model of the Hydrogen Isotope Effect for Zr-Ti-Co Alloys during the Hydrogen/Deuterium Desorption Process at High Temperatures

With high capacity, better antidisproportionation, and 3He trapping performance, Zr-Ti-Co alloys have excellent application prospects for hydrogen isotope storage. However, for α, α + β, and β phase regions of Zr-Ti-Co alloys, the regulation mechanism of hydrogen isotope effects differs and is unclear, and an evaluation model is missing, limiting the fuel supply of D2/T2 as 1:1 for ITER. Herein, desorption P–C–T curves and absorption and desorption kinetics were studied to show the hydrogen isotope effect. It could be found that the cell volume and thermodynamic characteristics were, respectively, the controlling factors on the hydrogen isotope effect of α and β phase regions. A general model was established to evaluate the application performance and hydrogen isotope effect of tritium storage alloys and quickly elected a suitable one. From the evaluation model, it could be found that by changing the Ti substitution content and desorption temperature, mixture fuels of D2/H2 as 1:1 could be offered in the range of 50–200 mL/g, and the desorption molar ratio of D2/H2 could be from 0.55:1 to 1:1. The hydrogen isotope effect was first regulated via alloy (α-phase) lattice parameters, and this model was universal to evaluate the application performance of most tritium storage alloys.