A Novel Approach to the Oxygen Activity Microdetermination of Oxides by EMF Measurements

A novel use of solid-state galvanic cells for the determination of thermodynamic properties of oxides by employing mg amounts of powder instead of presintered pellets is described. The oxides which were investigated all belong to the rare earths and actinide family, and present enhanced ionic and electronic mobilities Which are essential for performing these kind of measurements. The advantage of this method is to allow a fast and direct sampling of oxide fuel rods which is normally carried out by chemical methods. Some examples of this technique are given.