The effect of anodic oxidation on near-surface deuterium in thin ( ∼ 3.5 μm) foils of Zr-2.5 wt.% Nb has been studied with the 2D(3He, p)4 He nuclear reaction. To introduce deuterium into the foil, the native oxide was etched with a solution of 0.1% NH4HF2 in D2O. The foils were anodized, in a compact cell in a vacuum chamber, to oxide thicknesses of 160, 200 and 280 nm and the remaining D concentration measured. The D content was also measured, in separate experiments, with the anodized surface towards the beam. Detailed analysis shows that the effect of oxidation is to return most of the D in the anodized region to the solution.
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