Effect of cerium addition on intergranular embrittlement behavior of GH3535 alloy induced by fission product tellurium

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2025.10.055

J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2026, Vol. 263: 76-85.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2025.10.055

• Research article • Previous Articles Next Articles

Effect of cerium addition on intergranular embrittlement behavior of GH3535 alloy induced by fission product tellurium

Jijin Wu^a,b, Fenfen Han^a,*, Ruichen Duan^a,b, Xinyi Dou^a,c, Yanyan Jia^a, Jiamin Wang^a, Hefei Huang^a,*

^aState Key Laboratory of Thorium Energy, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai 201800, China;
^bUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
^cSchool of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China

Received:2025-09-01 Revised:2025-10-27 Accepted:2025-10-27 Online:2026-08-19
Contact: ^*E-mail addresses: hanfenfen@sinap.ac.cn (F. Han), huanghefei@sinap.ac.cn (H. Huang).

Abstract

Abstract: This study investigates the mechanism by which Ce content influences Te diffusion and grain boundary embrittlement in modified GH3535 alloy exposed to 800 °C in Te vapor. The results demonstrate that Ce significantly reduces Te diffusion depth and mitigates Te-induced intergranular cracking. The microstructure analysis reveals that Te diffusion was suppressed, primarily due to the formation of a surface telluride layer and the sequestration of Te atoms by Ce at grain boundaries. The alloy with 0.045 wt.% Ce exhibited optimal resistance to Te embrittlement. Excessive Ce addition promoted the formation of Ce-rich intermetallic compounds, which impaired mechanical properties and did not further improve resistance to Te diffusion. Thus, microalloying with Ce presents a promising strategy for alleviating Te-induced embrittlement in molten salt reactor materials.

Key words: Nickel-based alloys, Fission product, Te induced embrittlement, Ce addition

Jijin Wu, Fenfen Han, Ruichen Duan, Xinyi Dou, Yanyan Jia, Jiamin Wang, Hefei Huang. Effect of cerium addition on intergranular embrittlement behavior of GH3535 alloy induced by fission product tellurium[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2026, 263: 76-85.

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Effect of cerium addition on intergranular embrittlement behavior of GH3535 alloy induced by fission product tellurium

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