Influence of molybdenum ion implantation on the aqueous corrosion behavior of zirconium

In order to study the effect of molybdenum ion implantation on the aqueous corrosion behavior of zirconium, specimens were implanted by molybdenum ions with a dose range from 1 X 10(16) to 5 X 10(17) ions/cm(2) at maximum 160degreesC, using MEVVA source at an extracted voltage of 40 kV. The valence of the surface layer was analyzed by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS); Three-sweep potentiodynamic polarization measurement was employed to valuate the aqueous corrosion resistance of zirconium in a 0.5 mol/L H2SO4 solution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used for the three-sweep potentiodynamic polarized samples. It was found that the aqueous corrosion resistance of zirconium implanted with molybdenum declined with the raising dose. The greater is the implantation dose, the bigger is the decline. And the natural corrosion potential of the implanted zirconium became more positive than as-received zirconium. Finally, the mechanism of the poor corrosion resistance of the molybdenum-implanted zirconium is discussed.