A Search for Tritium Production in Electrolytically Deuterided Palladium

A search for anomalous heat generation and tritium production that could be associated with cold fusion in electrolytically deuterided palladium was carried out for > 180 days. Ten cathodes were mounted in electrolytic cells with LiOD and LiOH electrolytes and galvanostatically charged at current densities between 15 and 348 mA/cm². Most of the electrolytic cells were closed to the external environment; in all cells, the gases evolved during electrolysis were internally recombined using platinum recombination catalysts mounted in the cells. Tritium concentration assays using a liquid scintillation analyzer were performed on aliquots of electrolyte taken from some cells. No increase in tritium concentration was observed in the closed cells; in the partially open cells, small fluctuations in tritium concentration were observed, but these can be attributed to systematic errors.