Cr ions dissolved in molten Sodium Chloride create networks of Cr-Cl octahedra.

What is it about?

The paper describes the microscopic structure of Cr-containing molten NaCl based on neutron and X-ray diffraction and ab initio molecular dynamics. In addition to describing the local structure in terms of Cr-Cl octahedra, we found an unexpectedly low-melting-point metastable phase. Although such a high Cr concentration will not be present in the reactors, other multi-valent cations will and so the understanding of the metastable phases is important.

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Photo by josh Glauser on Unsplash

Photo by josh Glauser on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The resurgence of the Molten-Salt Nuclear Reactors (MSR) creates interesting problems in molten-salt chemistry. As MSRs operate, the composition and physical properties of salts change because of fission and corrosion. Since Cr is the principal corrosion product and NaCl is a common constituent and NaCl is common salt, we studied the speciation and structure around Cr ions in molten NaCl.