Hydrogen Permeation Behavior of Zirconium Nitride Film on Zirconium Hydride.

Wenke Wang,Yanke Wu,Guoqing Yan,Zhaohui Ma,Lijun Wang,Shunli Zhang,Zhancheng Guo,Jiandong Zhang

doi:10.3390/ma15020550

Abstract

Hydrogen permeation barrier plays an important role in reducing hydrogen loss from zirconium hydride matrix when used as neutron moderator. Here, a composite nitride film was prepared on zirconium hydride by in situ reaction method in nitrogen atmosphere. The phase structure, morphology, element distribution, and valence states of the composite film were investigated by XRD, SEM, AES, and XPS analysis. It was found that the composite nitride film was continuous and dense with about 1.6 μm thickness; the major phase of the film was ZrN, with coexistence of ZrO2, ZrO, and ZrN0.36H0.8; and Zr-C, Zr-O, Zr-N, O-H, and N-H bonds were detected in the film. The existence of ZrN0.36H0.8 phase and the bonds of O-H and N-H revealed that the nitrogen and oxygen in the film could capture hydrogen from the zirconium hydride matrix. The hydrogen permeation performance of nitride film was compared with oxide film by permeation reduction factor (PRF), vacuum thermal dehydrogenation (VTD), and hydrogen permeation rate (HPR) methods, and the results showed that the hydrogen permeation barrier effects of nitride film were better than that of oxide film. The zirconium nitride film would be a potential candidate for hydrogen permeation barrier on the surface of zirconium hydride.

Highlights

IntroductionThe type of reactor included gas cooled reactor (GCR), light water reactor (LWGR), heavy water reactors (PWR), and fast reactors (FRs) [1]
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutralThe type of reactor included gas cooled reactor (GCR), light water reactor (LWGR), heavy water reactors (PWR), and fast reactors (FRs) [1]
Chen et al [18] studied the preparation of the films on zirconium hydride by in situ reaction method in O2, CO2, and CO2 + P atmospheres, and the results showed the M-ZrO2 and T-ZrO2 film structure, and the films prepared in CO2 + P atmosphere had the best hydrogen blocking effect

Summary

Introduction

The type of reactor included gas cooled reactor (GCR), light water reactor (LWGR), heavy water reactors (PWR), and fast reactors (FRs) [1]. The space reactor included thermal neutron reactor and fast neutron reactor. In Russia’s research on space reactor, and the life of them were from Several months to. American research on space reactor included SNAP-10A and SNAP-100, and the life of them were 43 days and 7–10 years [2,3]. Because of its high thermal stability, high hydrogen density [4], low neutron capture cross-section, and good thermal conductivity [5,6,7], zirconium hydride became an ideal neutron moderator and was put into application in space nuclear reactor. Hydrogen will escape from zirconium hydride in the working environment, leading to the loss of hydrogen and deteriorating the moderating effect of the moderator [8]

Methods

Results

Conclusion