Preparation of spinel (MgAl2O4) spheres by a hybrid sol-gel technique

Spinel (MgAl 2 O 4 ) is one of a number of materials currently being considered as an inert carrier material for the transmutation and incineration of actinides and fission products in nuclear reactors. The development of an advanced fabrication route, based on the infiltration of radioactive solutions into porous media, for the production of such highly radioactive targets, can be achieved by preparing spinel in the form of porous dust-free beads, which can then be pressed and sintered to yield high density pellets. In these investigations, porous spinel beads have been fabricated by a hybrid sol-gel droplet to particle conversion method, and the effect of a number of process parameters on the material properties investigated.