PNNL

Abstract

The corrosion resistance of a series of zirconium-substituted gadolinium pyrochlore, Gd2(Ti1-x, Zrx)2O7, where x = 0.0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.00, were evaluated using single-pass flow-through (SPFT) apparatus at 90ºC and pH = 2. The zirconate end-member, Gd2Zr2O7, has a defect fluorite structure, which distinguishes it from the face-centered cubic structure of the true pyrochlore specimens. In addition to the chemical variation, the samples include annealed, un-annealed, and ion-bombarded monoliths. In the case of the titanate end-member, Gd2Ti2O7, the annealed specimen exhibited the least reactivity, followed by the un-annealed and ion-bombarded samples (2.39x10-3, 1.57x10-2, and 1.12x10-1 g m-2 d-1, respectively). With increasing zirconium content, the samples displayed less sensitivity to processing or surface modification with the zirconate end-member exhibiting no difference in reactivity between annealed, un-annealed, and ion-bombarded specimens (rate = 4.0x10-3 g m-2 d-1). In all cases, the dissolution rate decreased with increasing zirconium content to the Gd2(Ti0.25Zr0.75)2O7 composition (1.33x10-4 g m-2 d-1), but the zirconate end-member yielded rates nearly equal to that of the titanate end-member. These results demonstrate that to achieve the greatest radiation and corrosion resistance in this series, the Gd2(Ti0.25Zr0.75)2O7 composition should be considered.