Electrochemical and Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Signal Fusion for Detection of UCl3-GdCl3-MgCl2in LiCl-KCl Molten Salt

This study sets out to demonstrate the capability of using electrochemistry and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for concentration prediction of multiple species in a molten salt system at 773 K. Samples contained UCl(3)ranging from 0 to 10 wt%, GdCl(3)ranging from 0 to 5 wt%, and MgCl(2)ranging from 0 to 1.5 wt%, with LiCl-KCl eutectic salt as the remainder. Multivariate models were produced using semi-differential cyclic voltammograms (SDCVs) and normalized spectra acquired from LIBS. The SDCV model best predicted UCl(3)levels, while the LIBS model best predicted GdCl(3)and MgCl(2)concentrations. A third model was developed by fusing the SDCV and LIBS signals. This model predicted UCl(3)well and predicted GdCl(3)and MgCl(2)better than previous models. This model was then evaluated by using blind samples. The model predictions correlated well with inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy measurements, passing a t-test at a 95% confidence level.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the capability of using electrochemistry and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for predicting concentrations of multiple species in a molten salt system at 773 K. Multivariate models were established using semi-differential cyclic voltammograms (SDCVs) and normalized spectra acquired from LIBS, with the combined model showing improved prediction accuracy. The model was evaluated using blind samples and passed a t-test at a 95% confidence level, indicating reliable predictions.