Publications Details
Adsorption and desorption studies of cesium on sapphire surfaces
Adsorption/desorption were studied using combined surface analytical techniques. An approximate initial sticking coefficient for Cs on sapphire was measured using reflection mass spectrometry and found to be 0.9. Thermal Desorption Mass Spectrometry (TDMS) and Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) were used to verify that a significant decrease in sticking coefficient occurs as the Cs coverage reaches a critical submonolayer value. TDMS analysis demonstrates that Cs is stabilized on a clean sapphire surface at temperatures (1200 K) in excess of the temperatures experienced by sapphire in a TOPAZ-2 thermionic fuel element (TFE). Surface contaminants on sapphire can enhance Cs adsorption relative to the clean surface. C contamination eliminates the high temperature state of Cs desorption found on clean sapphire but shifts the bulk of the C desorption from 400 to 620 K. Surface C is a difficult contaminant to remove from sapphire, requiring annealing above 1400 K. Whether Cs is stabilized on sapphire in a TFE environment will most likely depend on relation between surface contamination and surface structure.