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Abstract: Simulations based on density functional theory (DFT) were used to investigate the behaviour of substitutional iron in both tetragonal and monoclinic ZrO2. Brouwer diagrams of predicted defect concentrations, as a function of oxygen partial pressure, suggest that iron behaves as a p-type dopant in monoclinic ZrO2 while it binds strongly to oxygen vacancies in tetragonal ZrO2. Analysis of defect relaxation volumes suggest that these results should hold true in thermally grown oxides on zirconium, which is under compressive stresses. X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) measurements, performed to determine the oxidation state of iron in Zircaloy-4 oxide samples, revealed that 3 + is the favourable oxidation state but with between a third and half of the iron, still in the metallic Fe0 state. The DFT calculations on bulk zirconia agree with the preferred oxidation state of iron if it is a substitutional species but do not predict the presence of metallic iron in the oxide. The implications of these results with respect to the corrosion and hydrogen pick-up of zirconium cladding are discussed.

Open Access

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Abstract: One of the major obstacles in replacing the widely used zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) antiwear additive with a more environmentally friendly one is the difficulty of time-resolving the surface species resulting from its decomposition mechanism under high contact pressure and temperature. To tackle this issue, a newly developed miniature pin-on-disc tribotester was coupled with synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to perform in situ tribological tests while examining the composition of the formed triboreactive films. The results showed that in the case of bare steel surfaces the initial decomposition products are mainly zinc sulfate species, which with further shearing and heating are reduced to zinc sulfide mixed with metal oxides. The mixed base layer seems to enhance the tenacity of the subsequently formed zinc phosphate layers composing the main bulk of the protective triboreactive film. This base layer was not observed in the case of coated substrates with hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (a-C:H DLC) coating, which results in the formation of less durable films of small volume barely covering the contacting surfaces and readily removed by shear. Comprehensive decomposition pathways and kinetics for the ZDDP triboreactive films are proposed, which enable the control and modification of the ZDDP triboreactive films.

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Abstract: Volcanogenic halogens, in particular bromine, potentially play an important role in the ozone depletion of the atmosphere. Understanding bromine behaviour in magmas is therefore crucial to properly evaluate the contribution of volcanic eruptions to atmospheric chemistry and their environmental impact. To date, bromine partitioning between silicate melts and the gas phase is very poorly constrained, with the only relevant experimental studies limited to investigation of synthetic melt with silicic compositions. In this study, fluid/melt partitioning experiments were performed using natural silicate glasses with mafic, intermediate and silicic compositions. For each composition, experiments were run with various Br contents in the initial fluid (H2O–NaBr), at T–P conditions representative of shallow magmatic reservoirs in volcanic arc contexts (100–200 MPa, 900–1200 °C). The resulting fluid/melt partition coefficients (DBrf/m) are: 5.0 ± 0.3 at 1200 °C–100 MPa for the basalt, 9.1 ± 0.6 at 1060 °C–200 MPa for the andesite and 20.2 ± 1.2 at 900 °C–200 MPa for the rhyodacite. Our experiments show that DBrf/m increases with increasing SiO2 content of the melt (as for chlorine) and suggest that it is also sensitive to melt temperature (increase of DBrf/m with decreasing temperature). We develop a simple model to predict the S–Cl–Br degassing behaviour in mafic systems, which accounts for the variability of S–Cl–Br compositions of volcanic gases from Etna and other mafic systems, and shows that coexisting magmatic gas and melt evolve from S-rich to Cl–Br enriched (relative to S) upon increasing degree of degassing. We also report first Br contents for melt inclusions from Etna, Stromboli, Merapi and Santorini eruptions and calculate the mass of bromine available in the magma reservoir prior to the eruptions under consideration. The discrepancy that we highlight between the mass of Br in the co-existing melt and fluid prior to the Merapi 2010 eruption (433 and 73 tons, respectively) and the lack of observed BrO (from space) hints at the need to investigate further Br speciation in ‘ash-rich’ volcanic plumes. Overall, our results suggest that the Br yield into the atmosphere of cold and silicic magmas will be much larger than that from hotter and more mafic magmas.

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Abstract: Ti‐based bulk metallic glasses are under consideration for implants due to their high yield strength and biocompatibility. In this work, in situ synchrotron X‐ray diffraction (XRD) is used to investigate the corrosion products formed from corrosion of Ti40Zr10Cu34Pd14Sn2 bulk metallic glass in artificial corrosion pits in physiological saline (NaCl). It is found that Pd nanoparticles form in the interior of the pits during electrochemical dissolution. At a low pit growth potential, the change in lattice parameter of the Pd nanoparticles is consistent with the formation of palladium hydride. In addition, a salt layer very close to the dissolving interface is found to contain CuCl, PdCl2, ZrOCl2∙8H2O, Cu, Cu2O, and several unidentified phases. The formation of Pd nanoparticles (16 ± 10 nm at 0.7 V vs Ag/AgCl) containing small amounts of the other alloying elements is confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. The addition of albumin and/or H2O2 does not significantly influence the nature of the corrosion products. When considering the biological compatibility of the alloy, the biological reactivity of the corrosion products identified should be explored.

Open Access

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Abstract: This manuscript presents the current status and technical details of the Spectroscopy Village at Diamond Light Source. The Village is formed of four beamlines: I18, B18, I20-Scanning and I20-EDE. The village provides the UK community with local access to a hard X-ray microprobe, a quick-scanning multi-purpose XAS beamline, a high-intensity beamline for X-ray absorption spectroscopy of dilute samples and X-ray emission spectroscopy, and an energy-dispersive extended X-ray absorption fine-structure beamline. The optics of B18, I20-scanning and I20-EDE are detailed; moreover, recent developments on the four beamlines, including new detector hardware and changes in acquisition software, are described.