Enrichment of Fe and Ni at metal and oxide grain boundaries in corroded Zircaloy-2

Atom probe tomography has been used to study for the first time the metal–oxide interface region in Zircaloy-2. Segregation of Fe and Ni to both deformation-induced sub-grain boundaries in the metal and planar features in the oxide has been found. Apparently, the oxide inherits the chemistry of the sub-grain boundaries as the material oxidizes, which may have implications for the waterside corrosion kinetics of the...