Use of oxygen isotope to study the transport mechanism during high temperature oxide scale growth

Abstract

The examination of high temperature (HT) oxide scale growth mechanisms was performed using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and secondary neutral mass spectrometry (SNMS), in conjunction with 16O2/18O2 HT oxidation experiments. Cr2O3, NiO, ZrO2 and Al2O3 were studied because they constitute excellent representative thermally grown oxide scales: they grow by cationic diffusion (Cr2O3, NiO), anionic diffusion (ZrO2) or mixed anionic-cationic diffusion (Al2O3). The oxidation tests were performed first in 16O2 and subsequently in 18O2 at several temperatures (600–1000°C for NiO, 600°C for ZrO2, 1000°C for Cr2O3 and 1100°C for Al2O3). The oxygen isotope distribution observed by SIMS and SNMS profiles are discussed and related with the HT oxidation mechanisms proposed in the literature.