Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy studies on the oxide formation of molybdenum in a water vapor environment

To evaluate the feasibility of molybdenum as light water reactor nuclear fuel cladding, the oxidation behavior was tested in water vapor at elevated temperatures. In this study, we present experimental results on the oxidation and volatilization of molybdenum using various characterization techniques including grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. After oxidation testing in water vapor at 600 °C, experiment results show the formation of both MoO₃ and MoO₂. With the increasing temperature, MoO₂ is the final oxidation product between 800 and 1200 °C, and MoO₃ is volatile at these temperatures.