Publications

Chlorination of zirconium (0001) surface: A first-principles study

Kim, E.K.; Weck, Philippe F.; Borjas, R.B.; Poineau, F P.

Here, the mechanisms and energetics of Zr(0001) surface chlorination by dissociative adsorption of gaseous Cl₂, and associated speciation and surface degradation processes, have been investigated within the framework of density functional theory. Chlorination of Zr(0001) is predicted to be exothermic by ~3 eV/Cl for dissociative adsorption of a single Cl₂ molecule, followed by exothermic chlorination to 1ML and 2 ML under Cl-rich conditions, with respective energy gains of 1.93 and 2.79 eV/Cl. Calculations also show that exfoliation of the top Cl-Zr-Cl sandwich layers is exothermic and most energetically favorable, and can thus be considered as a leading mechanism for Zr(0001) surface dissolution. Consistent with experimental findings, formation of ZrCl₄ molecular products is also found to be dominant during Zr(0001) chlorination.