A method for the determination of oxygen diffusion in metals, making use of the O16(d, p)O17* nuclear reaction, is described in the case of oxygen dissolved in zirconium after oxidation. Energy spectra of protons obtained experimentally have been compared to spectra calculated on a theoretical basis. The oxygen-concentration profile in zirconium and in a zirconium copper alloy, after an oxidizing treatment at 750°C, was measured. The results are compared with microhardness measurements and show that the microhardness oxygen-content relation is not linear. Furthermore, the determined oxygen-concentration profile suggests that the diffusion coefficient of oxygen in zirconium is concentration dependent. The experimental technique described is expected to have great future for studies of oxygen diffusion in metals and oxides.
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