Studies on the corrosion behavior of yttrium-implanted zircaloy-4

In order to study the effects of yttrium ion implantation on the aqueous corrosion behavior of zircaloy-4, specimens were implanted with yttrium ions using a MEVVA source at an energy of 40 keV, with a dose range from 1 × 1016 to 1 × 1017 ions/cm2 at about 150°C. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to obtain the structural character of the yttrium-implanted zircaloy-4. The valence of the yttrium ions in the surface layer was analyzed by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). Three-sweep potentiodynamic polarization measurement was employed to evaluate the aqueous corrosion behavior of zircaloy-4 in a 1 N H2SO4 solution. It was found that a significant improvement was achieved in the aqueous corrosion resistance of zircaloy-4 compared with that of the as-received zircaloy-4. The mechanism of the corrosion resistance improvement of the yttrium-implanted zircaloy-4 is probably due to the addition of the yttrium oxide dispersoid into the zirconium matrix.