Corrosion of Copper by Water

Szakálos, Peter; Hultquist, Gunnar; Wikmark, Gunnar

doi:10.1149/1.2772085

Cited by 94 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…As an example, copper could be an environmentally friendly and low-cost substitute for the (currently used) tin-lead or (promising) gold-and silver-based solder alloys in electronic packaging, if there was a way to prevent its oxidation 5 . Moreover, copper canisters are used for nuclear waste disposal, and understanding the oxidation and corrosion of copper in anaerobic conditions is thus really important 6 . On the other hand, the existence of stable copper oxides at room temperature, with a ∼ 2.0 eV band gap, makes them interesting for catalytic 7 , gas sensing 8 , optoelectronic and solar technologies 9,10 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atomistic details of oxide surfaces and surface oxidation: the example of copper and its oxides

Gattinoni

Michaelides

2015

Surface Science Reports

272

258

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The oxidation and corrosion of metals are fundamental problems in materials science and technology that have been studied using a large variety of experimental and computational techniques. Here we review some of the recent studies that have led to significant advances in our atomic-level understanding of copper oxide, one of the most studied and better understood metal oxides. We show that a good atomistic understanding of the physical characteristics of cuprous (Cu 2 O) and cupric (CuO) oxide and of some key processes of their formation has been obtained. Indeed, the growth of the oxide has been proven to be epitaxial with the surface and to proceed, in most cases, through the formation of oxide nano-islands which, with continuous oxygen exposure, grow and eventually coalesce. We also show how electronic structure calculations have become increasingly useful in helping to characterise the structures and energetics of various Cu oxide surfaces. However a number of challenges remain. For example, it is not clear under which conditions the oxidation of copper in air at room temperature (known as native oxidation) leads to the formation of a cuprous oxide film only, or also of a cupric overlayer. Moreover, the atomistic details of the nucleation of the oxide islands are still unknown. We close our review with a perspective on future work and discuss how recent advances in experimental techniques, bringing greater temporal and spatial resolution, along with improvements in the accuracy, realism and timescales achievable with computational approaches make it possible for these questions to be answered in the near future.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atomistic details of oxide surfaces and surface oxidation: the example of copper and its oxides

Gattinoni

Michaelides

2015

Surface Science Reports

272

258

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“…The copper samples were slightly covered by a reaction product with an approximate thickness of 10 nm when used in the present exposure to pure water. This surface finish was different from the one used in [10] (polished with 1,000 mesh SiC paper) and therefore the measured phenomenon of hydrogen evolution is not dependant on the surface finish of copper, nor low levels of impurities in the copper metal.…”

Section: Experimental Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The equipment used in the present study is made of stainless steel 316L with UHV-gaskets and is essentially the same as used previously [10]. The palladium membrane is crucial since hydrogen can quickly diffuse in this material.…”

Section: Experimental Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Relevant background facts for our current study have been: (1) release of molecular hydrogen (H 2 ) to a gas volume will not take place in reaction of a metal with water unless the amount of molecular oxygen (O 2 ) is insufficient to combine with hydrogen [7], (2) in a gas-mixture of O 2 and water vapour a considerable part of the oxygen in the reaction product comes from water [8], (3) atomic hydrogen enters the copper metal in hydrogen evolution from corrosion in water [9], (4) only a hydrogen-and water free exposure produce a hydrogen-free corrosion product on copper [8,10], (5) the pressure of molecular hydrogen (H 2 ) in ambient air is 5 9 10 -7 atm and is the result of partly unknown sources and partly unknown sinks from a steady state. Therefore any process with production of H 2 [ 5 9 10 -7 atm can not be counteracted by hydrogen in our atmosphere.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Water Corrodes Copper

Hultquist¹,

Szakálos²,

Graham

et al. 2009

Catal Lett

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According to a current concept, copper canisters of thickness 0.05 m will be safe for nuclear waste containment for 100,000 years. We show that more than 1 m copper thickness might be required for 100,000 years durability based on water exposures of copper for 20 h, 7 weeks, 15 years, and 333 years. An observed evolution of hydrogen which involves heterogeneous catalysis of molecular hydrogen, first principles simulations, thermodynamic considerations and corrosion product characterization provide further evidence that water corrodes copper resulting in the formation of a copper hydroxide. These findings cast additional doubt on copper for nuclear waste containment and other important applications.

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“…Corrosion of copper under anaerobic conditions has been debated quite vigorously during the past decade [76][77][78][79]. There is still a controversy on this issue, but ongoing experiments will hopefully resolve this.…”

Section: Copper Canistermentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiation Effects on Materials Used in Geological Repositories for Spent Nuclear Fuel

Jönsson

2012

ISRN Materials Science

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Safe long-term storage of radioactive waste from nuclear power plants is one of the main concerns for the nuclear industry as well as for governments in countries relying on electricity produced by nuclear power. A repository for spent nuclear fuel must be safe for extremely long time periods (at least 100 000 years). In order to ascertain the long-term safety of a repository, extensive safety analysis must be performed. One of the critical issues in a safety analysis is the long-term integrity of the barrier materials used in the repository. Ionizing radiation from the spent nuclear constitutes one of the many parameters that need to be accounted for. In this paper, the effects of ionizing radiation on the integrity of different materials used in a granitic deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel designed according to the Swedish KBS-3 model are discussed. The discussion is primarily focused on radiationinduced processes at the interface between groundwater and solid materials. The materials that are discussed are the spent nuclear fuel (based on UO 2 ), the copper-covered iron canister, and bentonite clay. The latter two constitute the engineered barriers of the repository.

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Corrosion of Copper by Water

Cited by 94 publications

References 19 publications

Atomistic details of oxide surfaces and surface oxidation: the example of copper and its oxides

Atomistic details of oxide surfaces and surface oxidation: the example of copper and its oxides

Water Corrodes Copper

Radiation Effects on Materials Used in Geological Repositories for Spent Nuclear Fuel

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