Fabrication of fine-grained Li2TiO3 ceramic with enhanced performance using high-energy ball milling

Numerous efforts have been made to fabricate Li 2 TiO 3 tritium breeding ceramics with satisfactory density and mechanical strength while maintaining a fine grain structure. In this study, high-energy ball milling was performed to promote grain refinement and amorphization of TiO 2 and Li 2 CO 3 powders, thereby preparing Li 2 TiO 3 ceramic at a reduced sintering temperature. In the presence of high-energy ball milling, powder mixtures with particle sizes of 24–29 nm were obtained, and the formation of β-Li 2 TiO 3 occurred at 400°C. The relative density and crushing load of Li 2 TiO 3 ceramic pebbles improved as the ball-to-powder ratio and milling time increased. The Li 2 TiO 3 ceramic pebbles sintered at 900°C exhibited a tiny grain size, satisfactory relative density (89%), and excellent crushing load (121 ± 13 N). The results also demonstrated that Li 2 TiO 3 ceramic possessed the maximum thermal conductivity and ionic conductivity under the conditions of a 20:1 ball-to-powder ratio and 20 h milling time, that is, 5.028 W/m·K and 1.87×10 −2 S/m at room temperature. Overall, the high-energy ball milling process has shown advantages in the fabrication of tritium breeding ceramics with fine-grained structure and excellent comprehensive performance.