Applicability of Fluorine Gas Surface Treatment to Control Liquid Sodium Wettability

Abstract

The iron (Fe) specimens selected as the substrate metal for this study were surface-treated using fluorine gas, and their wettability with liquid sodium (Na) was evaluated using the sliding angle. Additionally, the surface morphology and binding state were analyzed, and the applicability of wettability control with liquid sodium by fluorination was discussed using the analysis results. Fluorination formed a fluoride layer comprising FeF2 and FeF3 bonds on the iron surface. The composition of the fluoride layer varied, depending on the treatment conditions. The surface of the specimen that contains a lot of FeF3 bonds had a small sliding angle for the liquid sodium droplet and was harder to wet than the untreated specimen. In contrast, the surface of the specimen that contains a lot of FeF2 bonds had a large sliding angle for the liquid sodium droplet and was easier to wet than the untreated specimen. These results indicate that fluorination is an effective surface modification technique that can be applied to control the wettability of iron with liquid sodium.