Muon spin relaxation measurements on zirconia samples

Although of primary importance in the mechanistic understanding of Zircaloy hydriding, practically nothing is known of the transport properties of hydrogen in zirconia. In this frame the muon, which can be considered as a light hydrogen nuclide, can be used as an analogue and its behavior in zirconia and Zircaloy corrosion layer may provide more insight to understand the behavior of hydrogen in these phases. Preliminary muon spin relaxation (μSR) measurements on several monoclinic zirconia samples, including a Zircaloy corrosion layer, have been performed. From the observed muon depolarization rate, the muon diffusivity in bulk monoclinic zirconia can be extracted and is found comparable to that of recently reported proton diffusivity.