Deposition of ceramic layers using liquid organometallic precursors

A method of depositing a metal or ceramic layer comprising a metal selected from the group consisting of Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta, W, V, Ti, and mixtures thereof by chemical vapor deposition, comprising:

• a. introducing particles to a fluidized bed reactor, wherein the particles comprise nuclear fuel kernels;
• b. heating the fluidized bed reactor to a desired operating temperature T1;
• c. initiating a flow of a carrier gas through a vaporizer;
• d. injecting a non-halogenated liquid organometallic metal precursor into the vaporizer and vaporizing the non-halogenated liquid organometallic metal precursor,
• wherein the non-halogenated liquid organometallic metal precursor is a compound of the metal selected from the group consisting of Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta, W, V, Ti, and mixtures thereof;
• e. allowing a first mixture of the carrier gas and the vaporized non-halogenated liquid organometallic metal precursor to leave the vaporizer;
• f. optionally mixing the first mixture with a gaseous carbon source, a gaseous nitrogen source, a gaseous oxygen source, or a mixture thereof to produce a second mixture;
• and
• g. either:
• causing the first mixture to flow into the fluidized bed reactor at operating temperature T1, allowing deposition of a desired metal coating on the particles;
• or
• causing the second mixture to flow into the fluidized bed reactor at operating temperature T1, allowing deposition of a desired ceramic coating on the particles.