Thermal Chemistry of Nitric Oxide on Zirconium Surfaces
Abstract
Zirconium and its alloys are widely used for structural materials by the nuclear industry and as containers for harsh chemicals by the chemical engineering community. In these and other applications, zirconium-based components are exposed to reactive nitrogen and oxygen containing species. As part of a series of efforts to model surface chemistry in these systems, the interaction between nitric oxide and Zr(0001) surfaces is investigated by means of Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and temperature programmed desorption (TPD). AES data show that zirconium is oxidized by NO adsorption. TPD data with isotopic NO imply that subsurface oxygen participates in the thermal production of water by this surface. We also observe a Zr(0001)-(1×1)-N superstructure in LEED experiments after desorption, indicating the propensity of this surface to bind nitrogen. We propose a phenomenological model which explains our findings.
- Publication:
-
APS Ohio Sections Spring Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- April 2002
- Bibcode:
- 2002APS..OSS.B1003K