A comprehensive screening of plasma-facing materials for nuclear fusion

Abstract

Plasma-facing materials (PFMs) represent one of the most significant challenges for the design of future nuclear fusion reactors. Inside the reactor, the divertor will experience the harshest material environment: intense bombardment of neutrons and plasma particles coupled with large and intermittent heat fluxes. The material designated to cover this role in ITER is tungsten (W). While no other materials have shown the potential to match the properties of W, many drawbacks associated with its application remain, including: cracking and erosion induced by a low recrystallization temperature combined with a high ductile-brittle transition temperature and neutron-initiated embrittlement; surface morphology changes (fuzz layer) due to plasma-W interaction with subsequent risk of spontaneous material melting and delamination; low oxidation resistance. This work aims to produce a structured and comprehensive materials screening of PFMs candidates based on known inorganic materials. The methodology applied in this study to identify the most promising PFM candidates combines peer-reviewed data present in the Pauling File database and DFT calculations of two key PFMs defects, namely the surface binding energy and the formation energy of a hydrogen interstitial. The crystal structures and their related properties, extracted from the Pauling File, are ranked according to the heat-balance equation of a PFM subject to the heat loads in the divertor region of an ITER-like tokamak. The materials satisfying the requirements are critically compared with the state-of-the-art literature, defining an optimal subset where to perform the first-principles electronic structure calculations. The majority of previously known PFMs are captured by this screening process, confirming its reliability. Additionally, less familiar refractory materials suggest performance that calls for further investigations.