LAUSR

Although international thermonuclear experimental reactor project employs the use of beryllium–tungsten system as plasma-facing material in nuclear fusion devices, the scientific fusion community still considers aluminum–tungsten configuration a promising candidate for fusion-related devices, aluminum aiming to be a beryllium replacement. This study provides in-depth x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results on the interaction of aluminum and tungsten atoms in the surface layers prepared in various gaseous environments, important for the fusion community: vacuum, nitrogen, helium, and oxygen. A surprising outcome of the analysis is the suggested aluminum–tungsten surface alloying even at temperatures below 100 °C as well as the chemical interaction between aluminum and tungsten atoms, with the formation of aluminum tungstate, the two surface processes reinforcing the conclusion of surface mixing metals. Additionally, aluminum has a particular behavior by protecting and maintaining tungsten in an alloyed an...