Publications
Showing 31 results for Author: Phillip W. Halstenberg
Jul, 2026
Journal
Mechanochemical Synthesis of High-Purity Anhydrous Binary Alkali and Alkaline Earth Chloride Mixtures
A direct synthesis route for high-purity, anhydrous binary salt mixtures has been developed. This atom efficient, solvent-free process is easily scalable, with the potential to produce salt mixtures that meet the purity standards required for industrial heat transfer and nuclear applications. The essence of the methodology lies in mechanochemical synthesis of carnallite pr…
Jul, 2026
Journal
Direct Measurement of Cl− Activity in Metal Chloride Molten Salts using a Cl2/Cl− Electrode
Molten metal chloride salts are promising candidates for advanced heat transfer fluids in generation IV nuclear reactors and beyond. The activity of the chloride ion in the salt has a large influence on the redox characteristics of the corresponding molten salt. There exists a knowledge gap for the direct measurement of chlorobasicity (Lewis basicity) in molten-salt mixtur…
Jan, 2026
Journal
Thermodynamic properties of ZrCl4 with LiCl, NaCl, KCl, CsCl, MgCl2, and UCl3 for molten salt reactor applications
A set of self-consistent Gibbs energy functions has been developed to describe the thermochemical behavior of the major reactive fission product ZrCl4 with key components in chloride molten salt reactors (MSRs): LiCl–ZrCl4, NaCl–ZrCl4, KCl–ZrCl4, CsCl–ZrCl4, MgCl2–ZrCl4 and UCl3–ZrCl4. Low ZrCl4 concentration phase equilibria most relevant to MSR applications have been con…
Sep, 2025
Journal
High-Temperature Ferrofluids Based on Molten Salts
Molten metal chloride salts are promising candidates for advanced heat transfer fluids in generation IV nuclear reactors and beyond. However, research on the magnetic properties of suspended metallic nanoparticles at elevated temperatures is scarce, and there have been no attempts to develop a high-temperature, molten salt based ferrofluid. Such a ferrofluid would enable i…
Aug, 2025
Journal
Effect of CrCl2 or VCl2 addition on corrosion of Cr metal in molten MgCl2-KCl
This study investigated the effects of adding 1 wt% CrCl2 and VCl2 on Cr corrosion in eutectic MgCl2-KCl at 773 K under an argon atmosphere, using electrochemistry and immersion experiments. The redox potential of V3+/V2+ was more negative than Cr2+/Cr, suggesting that V2+ can protect Cr from dissolution. Additionally, the morphological and chemical evolutions investigated…
Aug, 2025
Journal
Exploring Cr and molten salt interfacial interactions for molten salt applications
Molten salts play an important role in various energy-related applications such as high-temperature heat transfer fluids and reaction media. However, the extreme molten salt environment causes the degradation of materials, raising safety and sustainability challenges. A fundamental understanding of material–molten salt interfacial evolution is needed. This work studies the…
Aug, 2025
Journal
Correlative analysis of Ni(ii) coordination states in molten salts using a combination of X-ray and optical spectroscopies and simulations
Understanding the factors that control the speciation of metal ions in molten salts is crucial for the successful deployment of molten salts in both concentrated solar power and nuclear energy applications. The speciation of the Ni(II) ion is of interest because it is a common corrosion product, and the distribution of coordination states it occupies is highly sensitive to…
Aug, 2024
Journal
Transient Covalency in Molten Uranium(III) Chloride
Uranium is arguably the most essential element in the actinide series, serving as a crucial component of nuclear fuels. While U is recognized for engaging the 5f orbitals in chemical bonds under normal conditions, little is known about its coordination chemistry and the nature of bonding interactions at extreme conditions of high temperature. Here we report experimental an…
Jun, 2024
Journal
Heterogeneous Structure, Mechanisms of Counterion Exchange, and the Spacer Salt Effect in Complex Molten Salt Mixtures Including LaCl3
Complex molten chloride salt mixtures of uranium, magnesium, and sodium are top candidates for promising nuclear energy technologies to produce electricity based on molten salt reactors. From a local structural perspective, LaCl3 is similar to UCl3 and hence a good proxy to study these complex salt mixtures. As fission products, lanthanide salts and their mixtures are also…