Solubility of hydrogen isotopes in palladium

An all-metal facility has been built to handle about 1000 Ci of tritium for studies of the tritium behavior in metals. First measurements of the pressure-composition-temperature relationship for the palladium-tritium system PdT_x are reported for the pressure range 0.1<=p<=2 bar, the composition range 0.02<=x<=0.65, and the temperature range 35<=T<=125°C together with the results of the PdH and PdD systems measured under the same experimental conditions. The main conclusions are that the inequality p_T2>p_D2>p_H2 holds at equal concentrations and temperatures and that the β-->α transition enthalpies show a strong isotopic effect, whereas the entropies do not.