Kinetic studies of solutions of deuterium in lithium by mass spectrometry

The rate of reaction of deuterium with liquid lithium was studied in the temperature range 483-563K and at pressures from 10-2 to 10-5 torr. A quadrupole mass spectrometer in conjunction with a membrane micromanometer for absolute pressure calibration was employed to carry out the measurements. Liquid lithium, with which deuterium was reacted, was contained in a Mo-crucible heated by a r.f. generator. The reaction was found to be of the first order; the sticking probability S was independent of the gas pressure in the range studied, and its dependence on temperature can be expressed as: logS=[-(2.941+-0.14) x 103/T]-(2.47+-0.1) which yields an activation energy Esub(A)sup(o) = 5.8+-0.3kcal/mole