Article

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) has been used to guide the search for an oxidation procedure that can produce a thin and relatively sharp oxide layer on macroscopic zirconium. A new preparation based on dip coating in H2O2 solution is indicated to be suitable for this purpose. SIMS further indicates that the oxide interface, for such a prepared sample, shows substantial degradation when it is heated in H2 gas at 300°C. The presence of H appears to facilitate O migration into the metallic region, an observation that supplements those made previously on oxidized thin-film samples of zirconium prepared by deposition under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions.Key words: secondary ion mass spectrometry, interfacial reactivity, oxidized zirconium.