Thermoionic emitters

The most important apphcation of this metal is as control rod material for shielding in nuclear power reactors. Its thermal neutron absorption cross section is 46,000 bams. Other uses are in thermoelectric generating devices, as a thermoionic emitter, in yttrium-iron garnets in microwave filters to detect low intensity signals, as an activator in many phosphors, for deoxidation of molten titanium, and as a catalyst. Catalytic apphcations include decarboxylation of oxaloacetic acid conversion of ortho- to para-hydrogen and polymerization of ethylene. 

Electron-emitting materials (commonly referred to as thermoionic emitters) can be classified as pure-metal emitters (e.g., W, Ta), monolayer-type emitters, oxide emitters, chemical-compound emitters, and finally alloy emitters. Thermoionic properties of selected materials are listed in Table 9.8. 

Bombick D, Pinkston JD, Allison J. Potassium ion chemical ionization and other uses of an alkali thermoionic emitter in mass spectrometry. Anal Chem. 1984 56 396-402. 

Rubidium metal and its salts bave very few commercial apphcations. They are used in research involving magnetohydrodynamics and thermoionic experiments. Rubidium is used in pbotocells. The metal also is a getter of oxygen in vacuum tubes. The beta-emitter rubidium -87 is used to determine age of some rocks and minerals. Radioisotopes of rubidium have been used as radioactive tracers to trace the flow of blood in the body. The iodide salt treats goiters. Rubidium salts are in pharmaceuticals as soporifics, sedatives, and for treating epilepsy. 

Parts with an open coherent porosity of >20% are used in vacuum tubes and aeronautics because of refractoriness, shape stability, and chemical resistance. Examples are porous cathodes impregnated with alkaline earth oxides as electron-emitting sources in special tubes, thermoionic converters heated by nuclear energy, and ionic propulsion units with porous tungsten plates as ionic sources for Cs vapor of high temperature. Those emitter plates are made of globular tungsten powder (7 pm) density 75-85%, pore size 2-30 pm, and pore number 1.4 x 10 -8 x 10 cm . ... 

Tie and Mo powders were sprayed by the plasma twin-torch process to form an FGM layer over a substrate to be used as an emitter in a thermoionic energy converter. The sprayed TiC coatings showed high absorptance for solar radiation. As compared to Tie monolayer coating and Tie/Mo two-layer coating formed on Mo substrate, FGM coatings performed better in a thermal cycling test. 

---